Illegal drugs, and even in some instances, prescribed drugs that are abused frequently, can have long term negative effects on a person physically and mentally. Robertson-James & Nunez ‘s (2012) research indicates that incarcerated women happen to report drug usage more often than incarcerated men do. Drug usage is also a factor that plays into mental health issues for these women. Many people turn to drugs as a way of “getting away from reality” in a sense, or even to attempt to suppress painful feelings that they feel cannot be bettered using any other methods. The effects typically are temporary, until a person becomes addicted to the drug and becomes dependent upon using and “needing” thus drug in order to get by and function day to
