Introduction Substance abuse can be defined as a pattern of behavior in which a person is seen to rely on a substance excessively and repeatedly whereby at the end the substance in this case is seen to damage personal relationships , safety and also work functioning . It is a complex problem and is seen to develop in the response of multiple influences of the substance use . Substance dependence on the other hand can be seen as a more advanced pattern on the substance use whereby in this case you find that the person is abusing the drug and most of their lives are usually centered on this particular drug . You tend to find that they have to use it no matter what circumstances since they are addicted to using the drug hence spent most of their times using it . Substance dependence can also be addiction in the sense that you tend to find that the person has become addicted to using this particular drug hence spends most of the time using . It may also become a tolerance in that one finds it as a habit which has to be done . Failure to using the drug may result to mental conflicts hence the need to keep increasing doses so that you can be in a position to get the desired dose from it . Withdrawal later happened sometimes in life and this happens when this particular person experiences some effects which are associated with the substance use .These effects may involve unpleasant and dangerous symptoms and these effects are usually seen when this particular person stops using this particular drug . So you tend to find that someone becomes addicted to the extend that failure of taking the drug may result to dangerous symptoms hence hard to stop them . The following is a list of some of the substances which are commonly abused by people both young and old , males and females . Depressants and examples of depressants are alcohol ,sedative-hypnotic drugs and opioids . Polydrugs , cannabis sativa ,stimulants and hallucinogens among other substances . All these categories of the substance abuse have their different effects on the person who uses them and some of these effects are dangerous since they can even lead to death . As a result there is the need for prevention measures in order to ensure that our communities have been enlightened on the dangers of using these substances since you find that most of the people use them simply because they have no information on the effects of these drugs . Let ‘s look at some of the impacts of the substance use on both the individuals and families respectively (Aguilar , 2000 .Impact of abuse or dependence on individuals and families One of the major impacts of the substance use to the individual is the mental effect on the person using the drug . For example the continued use of the ethyl alcohol or even ethanol which is a substance which is found in beer . So you tend to find that when someone consumes…