Angela Garcia Vs New Mexico

This simplistic voice contributes significantly to educating the reader on the issue of cancer in Africa and was likely used by Livingston as a manner of broadening her reader base beyond fellow Anthropologist. This can also be seen with her use of medical jargon, which was clearly intended for an audience of physicians and world health policy makers who can likely make a difference in providing care for those with cancer outside of wealthy Western society. Similarly, Garcia’s ethnography is written with a simplistic voice that values economy. Garcia, who is hoping to illuminate the importance of the history of dispossession in the Española Valley in treating heroin addiction and also works to counter well established stereotypes of both the pastoral environment and drug addiction within the United States. Garcia like Livingston also relies heavily on anecdotal evidence but also places an emphasis on interviews of those afflicted with heroin addiction. Her simplistic voice therefore, ensures nothing is added nor taken away from the voices of the people whose situation she is attempting to illuminate. This is especially important considering the emphasis Garcia places on

From beginning to end, Benoit Denizet-Lewis makes this apparent in his tales about the eight addicts, and even in his own experiences with addiction. The book has the potential to change the way the public thinks about the issue of addiction in America. At the end of the book, I learned about who had succeeded or relapsed. In a statement I wholeheartedly agree with, "Where are the millions of addicts in this country who are sober and have turned around their lives? They need to be on the front lines of this war," Denizet-Lewis mentions, encouraging other recovering addicts to join and make both a political and public stand on the awareness of

Chapter 3, “A Community of Addicted Bodies”, traces how physical and emotional dependence on heroin creates a social hierarchy within the

In the speech,”Everything you know about addiction is wrong,” spoken by Johann Hari, attempts to inform the audience about how society takes drug addiction the wrong way and is completely normal for a human to use drugs as a last resort in life. The presentation starts off when he explains to the audience the many different drug addicts he has met in his life a few years ago while traveling a long 30,000 mile journey. He then goes onto stating from his research that everything humanity has been taught about drugs is completely backwards. A experiment was done in the 50’s to show the relationship between drugs and social life. The reason people start drugs is not because they want to, but it is caused by not being able to bear a present in your life. Moreover, there is cruel punishments of drug abuse in America and how Portugal has tried to change it in their country. Luckily people can get over any kind of addiction when they have a friend or blood relative that they can call on if they have a crisis. Finally, people should be more supportive and open in their heart when it comes to others that have a addiction. The author uses logos and pathos to emotionally connect and comfort the people that have thought about drugs in their life and people that dislike drugs and addicts, but using ethos he tries to make a change in the natural drug habitat.

Dr. Gabor Mate, a Hungarian born Canadian physician, who is also a neurologist, psychiatrist, and psychologist, but who specializes in the study and treatment of addiction, reveals revolutionary evidence pertaining to addiction. In Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside, Dr. Mate worked with patients suffering chronic drug addiction for 12 years. With 20 years of experience as a family practitioner, Dr. Mate is a renowned speaker and teacher throughout North America; sharing his extensive knowledge with diverse audiences including health care professionals and educators (Mate, About Dr. Mate, 2016). The Realm of Hungry Ghosts, Dr. Mate’s most recent best-selling book, illuminates the origins and causes of addiction. As Co-founder of Compassion for Addiction (a non-profit organization), Dr. Gabor Mate encourages a greater understanding; “addiction is the attempt of affected human beings to escape a profound discomfort with themselves and their world” (Mate, Compassion4Addiction, 2015). Drawing on cutting-edge science, Dr. Mate presents the world with a shocking discovery: “The source of addiction is not to be found in genes, but in the early childhood environment.” Therefore, Dr. Mate simply “calls for a more compassionate approach toward the addict.” (Mate, 2016) As cutting-edge science concludes addiction to be a mental health issue, rather than criminal behavior, the American legal system demonstrates a devastating disservice to its own society.

First, the anthropological study of addiction has helped pinpoint who would be more prone to an addiction and brought forth the concept that since addiction was a learned behavior, it could also be unlearned. Primarily, ethnographic studies show that the identities of drug users are culturally and socially influenced (Singer, 2012). According to this research, it is evident that addictions have strong ties to one’s society and culture. In addition, anthropologist Margaret Mead popularized the concept of nature versus nature. According to her, addiction is a learned

They even provide a constitutive power of it (p. 7). Garcia considers how addiction is a disease emerging from the need to numb invisible communal suffering produced by historical and ongoing trauma. “The word people often use for heroin in northern New Mexico is ‘medicinal,” Garcia explained in a recent interview. “They view heroin as just another medication that takes the pain away.” Garcia developed an intimate knowledge of heroin addiction in the valley by developing relationships with addicts while working at the only clinic in the region. As a consequence, The Pastoral Clinic shows the relationship between self-medicating and the regional geographic and cultural dispossessions that have led to displacement, marginalization, addiction, and communal pain.

In the United States, many Americans can argue that we are facing a drug epidemic whether it is alcohol or illicit drugs other than medicinal marijuana. In response to this drug epidemic, organizations were created that are supported by the government and law enforcement in an effort to give addicts a chance to get clean. For example, Alcoholics Anonymous and Narcotic Anonymous are two organizations that focus on helping people who struggle from alcoholism or any addiction cope with the symptoms of withdrawal in efforts to stay clean with the support of their organization’s community. Although these two organization’s goals are similar, they attack these problems differently beginning with step one out of their twelve step program to help addicts get clean.

Young, white, suburban kids began dying of overdoses. Out of shame, most parents didn’t want to talk about it, but one grieving mother who did break her silence compared Purdue Pharma, the makers of OxyContin, to a “large, corporate drug cartel.” It was into this grim scene that stepped the heroin-selling Xalisco Boys, an actual drug cartel. Hailing primarily from Xalisco, a small, agricultural town in Nayarit on Mexico’s west coast, they quickly set up shop across the United States. But these entrepreneurs did things differently. By avoiding big cities, they went unseen by sophisticated police departments. Law enforcement officials gradually grew wise, but shutting down such a vast distribution network has proved daunting. What worked so well in this book was how Quinones emotionally illustrates the downfall of Dreamland, the beloved public pool that closed as a direct result of the heroin scourge. What was once a prominent multigenerational gathering place became a rundown relic of a once-thriving community. Dreamland may be gone for good, but the story ends on a high note: Many addicts are now moving back to Portsmouth to get clean. As Quinones says, the town may be “as scarred and beaten as an addict’s arm,” but the dreamers are hopeful they can heal and start anew.

In his essay “Embraced by the Needle”, Gabor Maté argues that addiction is the consequence of lack of care of parents on their children at an early age, where those children were deprived of ‘soft warm hug’. Maté reinforces his argument by providing some of his own experiences with his patients, while working as a physician in Downtown Eastside, Vancouver, who helps mental people and addicts. Generally, this place is the “drug capital” as Maté writes in his essay.

“There is nothing righteous about dopefiends. They’re assholes’ they’ll screw you. There is nothing enjoyable about this life” (Bourgosis & Schonberg, 2009, p. 1). The book Righteous Dopefiend is a powerful anthropological and photographic study of the growing epidemic of homelessness and substance abuse. This study immersed the reader into the life of the homeless and substance abusers with real encounters of more than a dozen people living on the streets. The lens of this book is focused on the concept of addiction. Author’s Bourgosis & Schonberg take their readers through the journey of understanding addiction by looking at the contributors or evolution of the participants substance use. They also provide a look into the daily chore of

Addiction is a serious problem, especially when it comes to drugs, and can severely impact one's life, which can be seen in these three following stories. First of all, Katrina K. had two addict parents and grew up in a one parent household, where she faced problems such as depression and molesting, which could be escaped through drugs. Next is an anonymous health professional that started his addiction in medical school when his friend offered him stimulants to stay awake to study, which developed into a continued use to keep up with the demanding workload of his practice. Finally, Tracey Helton Mitchell was a good student, but started addiction when she got her wisdom teeth taken out and received opiates, which led to many problems. Each of these previous addicts abused a different drug and started for several reasons.

Introduction: In section four of Chasing the Scream, Johann Hari addresses what causes addiction and the different viewpoints in which addiction is observed in society. He made an interesting point about veterans and how most were able to simply quit using heroin after coming home from the Vietnam war (Hari 173). It was surprising to me that they would be able to do that because I’ve been told that the second you use heroin, you’ve already signed a death sentence for yourself. While I don’t doubt that heroin is a dangerous drug that should be avoided by anyone and everyone, the argument that resulted from Bruce Alexander’s experiment puts addiction in a new light for me.

Thus far, throughout the semester, I have gained so much awareness and understanding for those whom are struggling with substance misuse. Addiction has played a major role in my immediate family life. Over the years, I have realized that addiction does not discriminate on a basis of race, gender, or social status. Based on my personal experiences, the perspective I have of addiction is that it is like a disease. It does not just affect the individual; it also affects everyone the individual comes into contact with. Addiction overall, is not just associated with drugs and alcohol, it is present with gambling, Internet use, sex, or even food (Van Wormer, 2013). In order to understand an individual who suffers from substance misuse, a therapist must first know the definition of addiction, be able to asses and diagnose a client with an addiction, explore the bio-psychosocial-spiritual aspects of their addiction, laws and ethics related to their addiction, and provide the proper treatment that will help them to recover. Throughout this paper, from a bio-psychosocial-spiritual perspective, I plan to explore the causes of Gia’s addiction to Heroin. In addition, I will examine my personal perspective on addiction and what treatment interventions and laws and ethics might come into play in therapy with Gia. Overall, I hope to provide Gia with an understanding of her addiction and provide the proper treatment on her road to recovery.

Numerous individuals do not comprehend why individuals get to be dependent on drugs or how drugs can change the mind to cultivate enthusiastic drug abuse. They erroneously view drug misuse and dependence as entirely a social issue and may describe the individuals who take drugs as ethically powerless (Alving, Matyas, Torres, Jalah, & Beck, 2014). One extremely regular belief is that drugs abusers ought to have the capacity to stop taking drugs if they are willing to change their conduct and be a member of society (Alvin et al., 2014). What individuals frequently underestimate is the intricacy of drug dependence that this is