Drug Abuse In Contemporary Society.

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University Degree Subjects allied to Medicine

Drug Abuse In Contemporary Society

By: Aisling Bevins, Caitriona Lydon, Eimear Nolan,

Fiona O’Donoghue & Catriona O’Neill.

Subject: Applied Social Studies

Year: 2 Class: X

Lecturer: Gerard Spillane

         In the following assignment we will be looking at drug addiction and substance abuse among society. Firstly we shall define terms such as ‘drugs’, ‘substance abuse’ and ‘dependence’. We will then look at the sociological perspective of drug abuse and its seven sociological stages; how age and peer pressure can result in this type of abuse, and the four stages linked with peer pressure; the main drugs being abused along with the physical and emotional effects on the abuser; the effect on the abusers family; and finally the range of services available for substance abusers and addicts.

The term ‘drug’ can be used to refer to any substance (other than food) that chemically alters the functioning of an organism. Since ancient times people have used drugs to stimulate or relax, to bring on sleep or prevent it, to enhance ordinary perceptions, or to produce hallucinations.         

Substance abuse is a pattern of use that displays many adverse results from continual use of a substance. The characteristics of abuse are a failure to carry out obligations at home or work, continual use under circumstances that present a hazard (such as driving a car) and legal problems such as arrests become evident.

Dependence is when a drug user feels the need to continue in a compulsive manner the use of substances, despite the problems related to this substance. Increased amounts are needed to achieve the desired effect or level of intoxication so the users tolerance for the drug increases.

Substance abuse and dependence cuts across all lines of race, culture, educational, and socio-economic status, leaving no group untouched by its devastating effects. A recent survey estimated that about thirteen million citizens of the United States had used an illegal substance in the month preceding the study. Substance abuse is an enormous public health problem, with far-ranging effects throughout society, such as crime, domestic violence, sexually transmitted diseases (including HIV/AIDS), unemployment, homelessness, teen pregnancy, and failure in school. One study estimated that 20% of the total yearly cost of health care in the United States is spent on the effects of drug and alcohol abuse.

        Sociologists and criminologists have determined that there are common elements, or stages, in the development of new drugs (Chaiken, 1993). From studies of three locales, New York City, Los Angeles, and Oahu, they conclude that identifying these stages early, at the local level, may allow communities to deter the development of epidemic drug use.

Clinicians need to be aware of these factors, particularly the cultural differences in drug use. Clinicians should join forces with other community leaders, including police, school districts, and local government, to prevent new drugs from reaching the most vulnerable members of the community.

 The several stages are identified as follows:

Stage 1:

Drug use is confined to isolated communities or subcultures. This is the lowest level of use that can be realistically achieved. For example, in the early to mid 1970’s, cocaine was confined primarily to relatively well-off groups in the entertainment industry. Likewise, common methamphetamine use was confined primarily to remnants of groups that had been users during previous periods of drug’s popularity.

        Stage 2:

Users switch to various types of drugs. At times, when one drug loses its appeal or accessibility, users will experiment with another drug, usually one in general use among people in close proximity. Different forms of administration may be tried. In Manhattan, for instance, opiates, especially heroin, were the drugs of preference in the 1970’s.

        Stage 3:

Local opinion fuses around a specific drug preparation. Frequent users of drugs discuss and justify to themselves the selection of a particular substance. By 1980, cocaine had emerged as a favoured drug in the three sites studied. In inner city Los Angeles and in North Manhattan, the base form of cocaine rapidly gained popularity. Local lore, a mixture of fact and fantasy, pushed base as being less harmful than the acid form. It was said to induce euphoria without unpleasant side effects. On Oahu, the drug was popular among Caucasians but among ethnic groups, such as Filipinos, who traditionally did not use drugs, neither the acid nor the base form of cocaine became popular.

        Stage 4:

Distribution by enterprising drug dealers accelerates. The organisation of local drug dealerships reflects typical free enterprise patterns. The most likely participants are those who seek to move rapidly up the economic ladder but reject or lack the legitimate means, for example, marginally employed residents of the drug-using communities. In Los Angeles and Manhattan the first dealerships were respectively called rock houses and base houses. Perhaps because there were too few users to support this form of enterprise in the early 1980’s, such organized houses did not appear on Oahu.

 Stage 5:

Drug use increases suddenly, with a sharp increase in use when a substance that is widely believed to be desirable becomes readily available at low cost. As stories about the drug spread, demand increases and more suppliers are drawn into the market. In Los Angeles and in Manhattan the number of cocaine users rose sharply between 1983 and 1984, about a year before the term crack was introduced. Between 1985 and 1986, crystal methamphetamine smoking increased in Oahu.

        Stage 6:

Drug use reaches epidemic proportions, overloading public agencies and health systems. The number of new users spirals upward, and prior users raise their consumption of the drug. If the drug is physically addictive, emergency rooms and other health services are overwhelmed by users as well as with infants born to addicted mothers. Drug-induced psychosis or violent episodes overload psychiatric and other emergency facilities with users and victims. Child abuse and neglect resulting from parental drug abuse increases. Rises in drug-related crimes strain criminal justice systems. 

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Stage 7:

The media report on the drug. Articles in newspapers call attention to the drug problem. Media stories may implicitly or explicitly suggest that the drug is new. In the late 1980’s, articles on crack and ice created the impression that these were new drugs even though, in Los Angeles, base cocaine and rock had been around for a decade. Employing the term crack tended to make the drug seem more desirable to youngsters who wanted to impress their peers.

        

The stages described represent the worst case; many drugs do not make it past the early stages. Epidemic ...

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Drug Abuse In Contemporary Society.
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  • Level
    University Degree
  • Subject
    Subjects allied to Medicine
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