“Drugs Take You To Hell Disguised As Heaven” 8 Simple Words

The time: the 1960s. The place: United States of America. Who? The youth. Doing what? Using drugs. Why? Many reasons. The 1960s proved to be a very turbulent time in the history of American youth growing up. There were many different activist movements all over the country. The primary drug user was the male college student involved in politics. He used mostly marijuana, some cocaine or LSD and of course alcohol. The sixites culminated with perhaps the biggest public scene of drug use ever: Woodstock. American youth in the sixties turned to drugs for a variety of reasons including the Vietnam War, the feeling of rebellion, activist movements, and the general pleasure-oriented society.

Drugs are not only legal in the society, but encouraged. In my opinion, the drugs are used to keep people’s minds occupied and to suppress their ideas or opinions. A reason that the people in the society turn to drugs is a lack of love. They are not shown any love by their family, and they do not feel any love towards their family. This causes a void that they feel the need to fill. Because the people are encouraged to use drugs, they do not question it, and they rely on them for their happiness. Once, when Millie overdosed on drugs, Montag called emergency services. When they came to help Millie, they said, “Hell… we get these cases nine or ten a night,” (Bradbury 15). This shows how heavily drugs are relied on. Although drugs are not legal in today’s society, we are somewhat close to Bradbury’s picture. There have been protests all over to legalize marijuana, and some states, such as Alaska, Colorado, Oregon, and Washington, have legalized the drug. Also, our family life also contributes to the increased drug abuse. For example, in the article “Risk Factors for Adolescent Alcohol and Drug Use/Abuse Prevention”, it states, “Family factors appear especially important in the early initiation to drug use and the initiation to illicit drugs…” (Bogenschneider). Because many teens today have parents who are uninvolved in their lives, it is very easy for them to abuse substances. This just proves the point that our society is close to the society that Bradbury created in his novel Fahrenheit

The first thing to note, Johann Hari uses pathos to emotionally connect to the viewer, so he can make drugs to not be viewed as

Drugs highly influence music in the sixties with bands such as The Byrds, The Doors, The Grateful Dead, Jefferson Airplane, Strawberry Alarm Clock, and The Beatles. These bands took inspiration from the affects that the drugs had on them with their psychedelic properties. Drugs were also just starting to get introduced and people were highly influenced with positive drug propaganda (“The 60 's”). So, the positivity about drugs were influencing the bands and the bands were influencing the people and the more dugs being bought, the more people heard about them, and the more people heard about them, the more they were used, so basically it was just an endless cycle of drug positivity.

Years passed before William B Carpenter composed a theory that “If the will repeatedly permitted a bad behavior, it might become habit-forming, and might ultimately lie beyond the will’s power to check it” (Zieger 1). Theories on addiction have been contrived since the early nineteenth century, and the thought of someone repeatedly utilizing a harmful substance may seem baffling to many. However, it is a complication with which many struggle. It is also common for opioid addicts to turn to the drug in times of fear or anxiety, in order to relieve the distress. Because opioids can entrust users with feelings of relaxation, euphoria, and extreme well-being (Narcotic 1), the effects of the drug are one of the reasons addicts such as Dorian Gray turn to this substance; "that is one of the great secrets of life -- to cure the soul by means of the senses, and the senses by means of the soul” (Wilde 15). The struggles of Dorian Gray’s and addicts’ lives bequeath them to the level of depravity solely in order to calm themselves. While difficult to believe today, in Victorian Britain it was possible to walk into a chemist’s shop to purchase drugs and substances that are currently considered

Society today has been clouded and somewhat overtaken by social drugs. Wherever you may look, a drug is being used, whether it is more commonly a cigarette being smoked on the street, or the covert teens smoking marijuana in secluded areas. In any case, there is not one person who can say drug use is not prevalent, since society has made it clear through news, music and everyday life. However, there are certain drugs that seem to be worse than others, and society once again has taught us that through our laws and restrictions. The worse the drug, the more you pay for having it. Basically, drugs have become a part of our life, and you never know when they can land on your doorstep.

Drugs aren’t just bad for some people, they are bad for everyone. Vidal states “Label each drug with a precise description of what effect-good or bad- the drug will have on whoever takes it.” Each drug will have a different affect, but none of them will be good ones. Although they may seem “good” at first, the outcome in the end is something that takes time to come back

"If we could sniff or swallow something that would, for five or six hours each day, abolish our solitude as individuals, atone us with our fellows in a glowing exaltation of affection and make life in all its aspects seem not only worth living, but divinely beautiful and significant, and if this heavenly, world-transfiguring drug were of such a kind that we could wake up next morning with a clear head and an undamaged constitution - then, it seems to me, all our problems (and not merely the one small problem of discovering a novel pleasure) would be wholly solved and earth would become paradise."

Today drugs are considered to be an acceptable social phenomenon by many teenagers. If parents are involved with children on a day-to-day basis, they will more than likely know when the child starts to take drugs because of the big changes going on in their lives. There are many positive alternatives to drugs, so drugs are not the only fun and "cool" things to do (www.nodrugs.com 2).

The seventies is often seen as a lost decade, merged between the optimistic sixties and the opportunistic eighties. Bruce J. Schulman argues, in his book titled, “The Seventies: The Great Shift in American Culture”, that this period ignores changes brought by the 1970s. This period brought changes in the economy, shifts in culture, politics, race, family and religious values. The United States faced many transformations that helped shape our country to this day. Schulman begins to explain his thesis, “The Seventies transformed American economic and cultural life as much as, if not more than, the revolutions in manners and morals of the 1920s and the 1960s.” The information that I will present will summarize the changes that affected the United

During the 70s women, African Americans and Native Americans were still fighting for their equality. People were also protesting the ongoing Vietnam War. The 70’s were a big time for scientific research. Just in the year 1977, scientist discovered legionnaire's disease and started using insulin. The 1970’s was also a big time for hippies fighting for peace, love and happiness. In 1969 President Nixon proposed a Family Assistance Plan that would give families about $1,600 of benefits per month.However, the plan did not pass the congress in 1970 nor in 1972. In the 70’s the US had an energy crisis, which in return made oil go up from $3 a barrel to $12 in a matter of months.

In Adam Barton’s film, The Stoned Ages (2011), researches the historical use of drugs and the institutional response upon the use of drugs by the masses. The Stoned Ages (2011) exposes an overwhelming discovery of drug use by people of ancient times and a connection of persistent patterns world-wide. Human beings have been in pursuit of expanding psychological capabilities from the beginning of human evolution (Barton, 2011). Social advancements depicted in The Stone Ages (2011), have derived from the use substances such as psychedelic mushrooms, during ancient rituals; permitting individuals to communicate with sacred Gods. Barton (2011) also discovers the use of drugs among Ancient Greek politicians as well, illustrating the wide use of drugs among people around the world and therefore theorizing the concept of drug use as an element of human behavior (Barton, 2011). According to Marc-Antoine Crocq’s (2007) research article summarizing the existence of drug use throughout the history of human-kind; “Schematically, psychoactive substances have been used (1) in religious ceremonies by priests; (ii) for medicinal purposes; or (iii) massively, as staple commodities, by large segments of the population in a socially approved way” (Crocq, 2007). Explained in Barton’s (2011) documentary however, the use of drugs had dire consequences caused by elitists’ hunger for power; Christians forbade the use of drugs with severe tactics of enforcement and lethally persecuting those who

Did you know that in 2011, almost five people per hour dies of a drug overdose in the U.S alone? Good morning/afternoon everyone, isn’t it shocking to learn how easy it is to die of a drug overdose, yet, it seems, people in Brave New World are willing to take them in order to retain a permanent happiness holiday 24/7. Drugs both play a massive role in Brave New World and our modern society. I’m sure if I were to ask you if you knew of anyone who has ever tried drugs, I think we all would know the answer. It seems that in The World State you cannot find one person who doesn’t take drugs. Throughout this seminar we are going to see how drugs play an important role in both Brave New World and our modern day society for different reasons but also for some of the same reasons.

As America was fighting a war for freedom in another country, unruly teens were fighting their own at home. Cultural change, the explosion of free love, youthful rebellion, and a new liberal mindset all seemed to have one underlying device in common; drug use. The late 1960’s into the early and mid-70’s found the perfect environment for recreational drug use. Music and arts celebrated this lifestyle, as well as free thinkers and their idiotic philosophies about spiritual elation through mind altering narcotics. Lack of family structure with so many homes transformed by the Vietnam War also left young teens without guidance, and an economy with little to offer to the up and coming generation. As the next few years passed and the free love generation began to grasp the concept of working for a living, showering on a regular basis, love with commitment (or antibiotics), and cultural change through policy, they brought to the workforce a new dynamic not previously prevalent. Recreational drug use had become part of society. Vietnam War veterans also brought their own demons home with their return, opiate addictions were a common occurrence (Carson 2012).

The use of drugs is a controversial topic in society today. In general, addicts show a direct link between taking drugs and suffering from their effects. People abuse drugs for a wide variety of reasons. In most cases, the use of drugs will serve a type of purpose or will give some kind of reward. These reasons for use will differ with different kinds of drugs. Various reasons for using the substance can be pain relief, depression, anxiety and weariness, acceptance into a peer group, religion, and much more. Although reasons for using may vary for each individual, it is known by all that consequences of the abuse do exist. It is only further down the line when the effects of using can be seen.