Drug Abuse in Modern Day Society

Drug abuse is an addiction to a drug that can lead to harmful effects for the user and the people around him or her. Drug abuse has been around long before most of us were alive. Almost everyone that has a drug problem does not think they will get addicted when they try the selected drug for the first time. Drugs do things to people without them realizing it and hurt them in the long run

In this paper I’m going to discuss one example of drug use and I’m going to relate it back to the public. While still posing the question “Is this a personal trouble or a public issue?”

How an individual utilizes drugs is partially up to their culture, family, friends, peers, doctors, race, job, position in society, social class, and most importantly themselves. Drugs can be positive or negative, it depends on a person's demographics in society and personal views. It is true that illegal drugs are related to several negative components of society’s family problems, high prison populations, violence, health problems, deaths, homelessness and many other. To some people drugs are the only way, the only way to survive a life killing disease, mental health problems, physical health problems, depression, stress, and anxiety. It is true that drugs impact social problems, but if people changed their perspective on less harmful drugs and how they can help, there may be fewer problems that our society would have to worry about. Before 2010, sentencings for possession of crack, which is cheaper and mostly used by the poor and African Americans,  were much higher than the possession of cocaine which is predominantly used by the middle class and whites. “Drug laws criminalize the poor, especially people of color, who now fill U.S. prisons in disproportionate numbers” (Macionis, 248). Court fines and legal council are expensive and the average lower middle class family can not afford to pay these let alone the lower class. Poor Americans are almost certain to fall back into a life of drugs and crime when they are released from jail because there are few programs in place to help inmates successfully integrate back into society. Finding a job as a convicted felon is near impossible so many turn to selling illegal items to support themselves and their family. Enhanced policing and tracking in poor communities makes it easier for law enforcement to arrest new and repeat offenders (Macionis,

Substance abuse is very common in today's culture. There are many different substances that are abused. The most common abused substances are illegal street drugs and alcohol followed by prescription pills and medications. Technically speaking, most anything can be abused if it is taken excessively and without caution or consideration to the suggested directions. Even over the counter medications can be abused. It usually when unseen potential for dependence or abusive behaviors arise out of the general population that the authorities step in and begin to restrict its use.

I believe that one of the important social problems facing the United States is drug abuse. Not only is drug abuse killing people it is affecting poverty, sex trafficking, education, and in places over population. Most of our drugs come from southern countries but the Biggest is in Mexico in my opinion. There are very many drug cartels that get in through Texas, California, and Florida. We see so many tv shows that have to do with catching the bad guys that let these drugs into our country.

Drugs have been a very big problem in the United States and all over the world for centuries now. But, On September 10, 1996 the mother of Ian James Eaccarino found her son dead in his bed of an accidental heroin and valium overdose. He was a promising college student with everything to live for. He was bright, athletic, popular, and handsome. His mother was unaware that he was using drugs and thought the changes were just adolescent behavior. The death of James made her curious of why her son would do what he did. So, she went to a drug awareness program, which opened my eyes to what was really happening in her home. He was only 20 years old when this happened.

Drug abuse is happening in many countries. Millions of dollars are exhausted universally to prevent drug use, to treat addicts, and to fight drug-related misdemeanors. While drugs menace many civilizations, their result can also be combated triumphantly. This essay topic glances at some of the consequences of drug use on the world, and proposes some resolution to the complication. Drug addiction and drug abuse sinfully changes your state of body and mind with chemical substances. (What is the scope of Marijuana use in the United States?)

Although some people argue for the legalization of drugs, addiction to these substances has caused a huge increase in violent crimes in the home, at school, and on the street. Many people do not understand why individuals become addicted to drugs or how drugs change the brain to create compulsive drug abuse. They mistakenly view drug abuse and addiction as strictly a social problem and may characterize those who take drugs as morally weak. One very common belief is that drug abusers should be able to just stop taking drugs if they are only willing to change their behavior. This is a false and uneducated belief. Drug abuse may start as a social problem or social escape but one the addiction has taken ahold of a person

Drugs are on the uptrend here in America, with more than 120 people dying per day of drug overdose, according to the Penington Institute. Many people, including President Trump, have pinpointed Mexico as a source of many of the drugs consumed in the US. President Trump voiced his views in the speech in 2015 as he announced his Presidential bid: “They're sending people that have lots of problems, and they're bringing those problems with us. They're bringing drugs. They're bringing crime.” Mr. Trump is right about one thing: Mexicans are smuggling drugs into the US. According to a report released by US Customs and Border Protection in 2015, 99.8% of methamphetamine and 99.9% of marijuana captured by the organization were at the border shared with Mexico.

In the vicinity of 1980 and 2001, the quantity of people imprisoned in state penitentiaries in the United States developed by 316% (Bureau of Justice Statistics, n.d.a.). Moreover, the quantity of detained people per 100,000 populace ascended from 139 in 1980 to 470 in 2001 (Bureau of Justice Statistics, n.d.a.). Strangely, "intense on wrongdoing" approaches executed amid the Clinton organization brought about the biggest increments in government and state jail populaces of any president in American history (Feldman, Schiraldi, and Ziedenberg, 2001). Imprisonment is concentrated among youthful, uneducated guys; especially African Americans. In 1999, more than 44% of the quantity of detainees in state and government penitentiaries and nearby prisons were Black, and 11% of Black guys in their 20s and mid 30s were either in jail or prison in 1999 (Bureau of Justice Statistics, 2000a). In the mid-1990s, one out of each three youthful Dark guys was under some type of state supervision (Western and Beckett,1999). There is additionally prove that the National Institute of Drug Abuse was instrumental in stifling a 1997 World Health Organization report recommending that cannabis was far less unsafe than liquor and tobacco ("The report the WHO attempted to cover up," 1998). Now with standing, the proof for pot's restorative uses is mounting.

Individuals who are addicted to drugs will do anything possible to get “a fix” when they are feening. They commit crimes such as, robberies, simple assaults, and breaking and entering just to get money for their next high. Individual’s who are addicted to drugs loose self esteem and morals. They will walk the streets pan handling for money, hang out on the street corners holding signs for help, and have sex with random people, just too get enough money for their next high. We as society have to worry what these individuals will do when they need that fix and can’t get it.

Growing up, I lived in a small community where poverty was an issue. Within the low-income community, drugs, crime, and education lacked. There were many people unemployed, lacked health coverage, and financially unstable. One of the major issues in the community was the use of illegal drugs. The substances damaged people's lives, due to addiction. The drugs included heroin, marijuana, and cocaine; the list can go on and on. From future football players to basketball players, I watched all these superstars turned their lives upside down. I watched players that had the privilege to play for top universities lose their scholarships because of the use of illegal substances. I even watched one of my own, my uncle.

My perspective on society’s current drug use problems stems essentially from all the lives I have personally seen destroyed or disrupted by addiction. Currently our nation is experiencing a heroin abuse epidemic. NSDUH (2014) established that nearly a half a million people in America were heroin users during 2014, and the epidemic is rampantly out of control (p. 11). In an attempt to analyze why and how it has exasperated, I found that I feel the nature of the problem is in direct correlation to the extreme expectations society places upon not only our youth, but on single parents, reintegrating drug offenders, adjusting immigrants,

This leads to an increase in criminal activity such as neglect of familial duties, robberies to fund their dependency, and violence to defend their habits. The ‘drugee’ becomes a nuisance to society. Some become homeless and exhibit poor health habits such as malnutrition and tooth decay. Other negative effects include the transference of diseases because of needle sharing. Though drug use is a personal choice, the effects on the rest of society are undeniable. The best intentions are formulated on a personal level, but this is overcastted by its negative effects. This argument, however, is a bit one-sided because the reason for using and dependency varies between users.

     Do people ever think about the consequences about drug abuse? Not many of us do but we all know what it does to us. Drugs are harmful to the brain and the body system itself; they affect the heart in many ways and because of that people become unconscious as to what their actions are. They do not realize how badly they can harm the community around them. Drugs are normally used by those who are not involved in activities such as, religious clubs, sports, etc. The users are normally stressed out with life and at times they just need something to set their minds aside from problems which occur in their everyday life. There are many reasons as to why and how drugs affect the community around the drug user