In ‘The Social Life Of Smokes: Processes Of Exchange In

Lee D. Hoffer’s “Junkie Business: The Evolution and Operation of a Heroin Dealing Network” is an ethnography that details the buying and dealing of the highly addictive drug, heroin, in the particularly homeless area of Denver, Colorado called “Larimer” from 1995 to the year 2000. The majority of the book focuses on the partnership of two heroin dealers, Kurt and Danny, and examines their daily lifestyles and the transitional periods they faced during their operations. On a much broader level, Hoffer wanted to characterize the heroin dealing occurring on the consumer-oriented side of the heroin dealing business, as well as understand the evolution of Kurt and Danny’s operations. Hoffer’s virtually unlimited

Chapter 2 talks about the dealers locating a provider or “supplier” for drugs. Suppliers are any individual that sells narcotics in bulk or “weight” (25). This initially broke down to

A great deal of harm is caused by illicit drugs, particularly to dependant users. Drug use damages the user and diminishes an individual’s social cohesion. An individual’s dependency on illicit drugs places a heavy burden on the Australian legal system, welfare(Centrelink), the justice system(lawyers) and the medical system. The many burdens caused by the manufacture, supply and use of illicit drugs effect the efficiency of Australia. The Drugs misuse and trafficking Act 1985 (NSW) applies to over 240 drugs, including

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

Throughout this essay the sociological imagination is used to analyse the historical, cultural and structural reasons for drug use and abuse. Within this parameter the sociological imagination is applied, using studies research conducted in the United Kingdom, Australia, Russia and the United States. The sociological imagination was defined by Charles Write Mills as a ‘quality of mind’. (Mills quoted by Germov, Poole 2007: 4 ) It is stimulated by an awareness to view the social world by looking at how one’s own personal problems and experiences form a relationship to the wider society. In Victorian society the majority of people believed there was no ‘drug problem.' (Berridge, 1999) The substances used in Britain at the time like opium

This is written as if not a call to action, then a call to galvanize. The purposes of this report is to enable readers to through empirical and contextual description see the war on drugs for what is really is: a public relations ploy whose end results are not fighting drugs, but

Besides this, many people are concerned because of the influx of hard drugs, especially heroin, to the mainstream rather than being hidden in the poverty-stricken inner cities. In recent years, crack, cocaine, and heroin have been more prevelant than ever, especially among the wealthy. Drugs are no longer something that only gang members and bad guys do, everybody is doing them. (Inciardi 1999)

“Drug policy regarding the control of the traditional illicit substances (opiates, cocaine, cannabis) is currently moving through upbeat times in almost all Western countries. Prohibition on the basis of repressive law enforcement not only seems to fail on a large scale, but also to create vast additional costs, problems, and harm for drug consumers, who often find themselves in extreme social, economic, and health conditions” (Fischer 1995: 389).

The first dimension looks at drug availability and accessibility, without which Parker et al (2002) claim ‘normalisation’, could not take place. Over the past decade the availability of a variety of drugs has increased. With more and more drugs becoming available on the streets, prices are falling lower than ever. However purity levels are remaining the same, causing drug use to increase. Nowadays most youngsters obtain their drugs through social networks and friends of friends, who know the local dealers supplying on a small-scale level (Parker et al, 2002). Although this would therefore mean a huge population of young Britons have breached the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971, this type of dealing is extremely common and also very difficult for the police to detect, as it is concealed between small networks of users buying usually ‘recreational’ drugs for personal use (Parker et al. 2002). Such behaviours between these groups of friends have become so ‘normalised’ that they do not see what they are doing as breaking the law, most of the users will otherwise live a fairly law-abiding lifestyle where drugs have a purely recreational purpose (Parker et al, 2002).

This weeks assignment explores the "War on drugs" and the effect that it has on those addicted to drug and those that sell drugs. The "war on drugs" gained popularity and momentum in the 1960's with action taken by President Richard Nixon in 1969 when law were enacted (Singer, p.289). This article surprised me greatly since I was under the impression that this 'war' was designed to improve health. wellbeing, and restore the values of the 'good ole days". However, little influence regarding society's wellbeing had little to do with the decision. Political, economics, and international relations proved to be the focus of the 'war'. Nixon attributed the decay of society to the use and distribution of drugs, labeling drug abusers as criminals (Singer,

An interview conducted by NPR sheds some light on the truth behind the modern day opiate addict, where an ex-addict states, “I sold dope to cops, I sold dope to lawyers, I sold dope to doctors. I had a cop that used to drive me to my drug connection - rich kids. I had two good friends that were very wealthy, and because of their addiction, their parents have nothing today because their children just drained them” (Wilder). For many decades the war on drugs has been a huge failure, opiate addiction numbers continue to rise, and multiple overdoses may occur in any place at any given time. As Wilder previously stated in his interview, nobody is safe from opiates, they are sold even among society’s elite. When the stereotype of the “low-life” opiate addict is destroyed, it is clear that this crisis is one that does not discriminate. Therefore, when having the right information and tools on prevention, one may be able to stop his or her opiate addiction before it has a chance to

Illegal drugs will always be the number one cause of criminal behavior. Within today’s society, drugs have taken a negative impact on individuals who buys and sell drugs. The negative consequences of drug abuse affect not only individuals who abuse drugs but also their families and friends, various businesses, and government resources. Although many of these effects cannot be quantified, ONDCP recently reported that in 2002, the economic cost of drug abuse to the United States was $180.9 billion. (National Drug Threat Assessment) Drugs are one of the major criminal issues that society faced for

There was a great push for a non-judgmental approach that would ‘reduce physical, social and psychological risks to individuals who use drugs and to society as a whole’ (McCann & Temenos, 2015, p. 217). Never the less, this was a highly contested set of policy formulation across all levels of governance.

If you have ever seen the movie The Wolf on Wall Street, there is no doubt you have seen the effects drugs can have. Leonardo DiCaprio portrays a high-strung stock broker reliant on a multitude of illegal drugs to keep up with his hectic life style. His addiction gets so severe that at one point in the movie, he is lying on the floor, unable to move due to the drugs’ effects on his body. Even though the movie is set in the 90’s, a decade infamous for its use of drugs, today, drug usage and abuse has never been more of an issue. According to Alice Park (2016), “More people died of drug overdoses in 2014 in the U.S. than in any other year” (p.49). What people fail to realize is that drug abuse effects more than just the individual that uses them. The loved ones trying to support the user, the community the user is in, can all be affected by drug abuse. In fact, all members of society are affected by the abuse of drugs. In short, no one benefits from drug abuse. In the words of the Nation Institute of Drug Abuse, “Drug abuse is a major public health problem that impacts society on multiple levels. Directly or indirectly, every community is affected by drug abuse and addiction, as is every family. Drugs take a tremendous toll on our society at many levels” ( Magnitude, 2016).

Coyle analyzes the drug industry to examine the ways in which the industry functions much like a legitimate market. For example, dealers give away free samples, like marketers do with new forms of soap or shampoo, to get potential customers addicted or ‘hooked’ upon the product. (9) However, despite the fact that up to 50 percent of Americans have tried some form of illicit drug, not all drug consumers become hooked—the core market of persons who are addicted drive the incentive of sellers to continue to supply their habit, and the lack of comparable substitute goods for growers that yield a competitive profit creates an incentive to maintain the