A lot of us have an idea in our heads about what a person addicted to drugs looks like.
[A young woman is in the foreground. Figures of different people appear around her: a man in a business suit, a woman in a red dress, a young man with green hair and a young woman in a work uniform. A question mark appears over the head of the woman in the foreground.]
But the truth is, anyone can become addicted to drugs.
[People of different ages, races and colors are lined up on screen.]
Addiction is when you feel a strong urge to keep taking a drug, even if it is causing harm. To stop, ask for help.
[A woman is shown standing in front of a table. There is a pack of cigarettes on the table. The woman reaches for the cigarettes with her right hand, but her left hand shoots out to stop her from grabbing them. She struggles to resist the urge to smoke.]
Drug addiction doesn't depend on your income,
[An image of stacked dollar bills and loose change appears.]
your job,
[An image of a businessman appears.]
your age, race or color.
[An image of three people of varying age appears, then three people of different race and color.]
Addiction is a disease of the brain—and it can happen to anyone.
[The screen zooms in on the three people, whose bodies become dark as their brains are highlighted.]
You probably already know that you can become addicted to tobacco, alcohol and illegal drugs.
[An image of a pack of cigarettes bobs onto the screen. It is joined by images of beer bottles and a marijuana leaf.]
But even prescription drugs can be addictive when not taken as directed or when you take medication not prescribed for you.
[These images swing down off the screen and a pill bottle swings up. Zoom out to the bottle sitting on a table as a man tosses pill after pill into his mouth.]
There are scientists who study drug abuse.
[Four scans of a person's brain appear.]
Their research has taught us a lot about what makes you more likely to become addicted to drugs.
[The scans are then shown to be in the hands of a scientist.]
Things like…having family members who have had a drug problem…starting drugs at a young age…
[An image appears of a family sitting in front of a television. Bottles of beer are strewn about the room. The image of the family disappears.]
having mental health problems—like depression
[A man is shown looking sad.]
or hanging around other people who use drugs. All put you at risk.
[The man fades out, and the new scene that fades in is one of a young woman walking down a street toward a group of people dressed all in black. She walks up to another young woman who hands her a bag of drugs. She takes the bag of drugs. The scene pauses as if it were shown on a television screen and lines appear as if someone pressed rewind on a video and reversed the scene.]
But you do not become addicted if you don't take drugs.
[The scene plays over again, except this time the young woman does not take the bag of drugs.]
If you or someone you love has a problem, get help.
[The view zooms in to the window behind the young woman, and we can see a man standing in front of a table. He picks up a telephone.]
And if you do become addicted, you can be treated and you can recover.
[Zoom in on the sad face of a man that slowly grows less sad.]
Find drug treatment near you. Call 1-800-662-HELP. Want to learn more? Find easy-to-read drug facts at www.easyread.drugabuse.gov.
[Black screen with white lettering shows the drug treatment number and website address.]