The Pastoral Clinic Book By Angela Garcia Takes Place On

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

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

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

Due to a clinicians’ lack of understanding of Hispanic culture, feelings of alienation can result from the patient. Family and social structures are different in Hispanic culture, whereas “professional help may not be sought due to Hispanics considering substance abuse a family problem” (Reif, Horgan & Ritter, 2008). In Hispanic culture it is perceived that family issues remain in the family, thus outside help is frowned upon. When treating clients from this population, clinicians need to include the whole family in the treatment plan and to respect family

Drug use in New Mexico is the highest factor into crime, violence, homelessness, poverty and overdose. Statistics have shown that this state has had the highest drug overdose death rate in the nation for most of the last two decades. With illegal drugs still playing a big factor into this problem, prescription drugs cause more deaths than both cocaine and heroin. There are many contributions into why New Mexico has had such a bad drug abuse problem including one of the biggest cartels in the US is located here and many of the society is introduced to drugs at such a young age. There has been an ongoing crisis of deaths but with help from the

I see it all the time, on the news, in the newspapers and on the streets of Providence. Talk of the heroin epidemic always seems to be in my face. Often, I see the people plagued by this epidemic. I see them pacing and puffing on cigarettes waiting outside of the clinic just a couple minutes down the street from me. I see them panhandling at intersections with their cardboard signs. I sometimes see discarded needles in the streets downtown. Sometimes I catch myself trying to pretend that I do not see these things or these people. It’s not something people want to think about, it is very unpleasant. These people almost seem to be forgotten by society. They are the heroin addicts of New England.

Liz Robbins’ article, Heroin and Pill Overdoses Claim Immigrant Victims, Catching Families Off Guard, emphasizes the danger immigrant parents face with their children coping with the American ways, specifically the abuse of drugs. The article focuses on stories of several young immigrants in New York City that fell victim to the ropes of drugs. Some of them overcome the abuse, others are not so fortunate.

Addiction can be a very troubling experience for the addict and those involved in their life. However, each individual’s journey with drug addiction is a personal one. Angela Garcia studied a clinic in New Mexico to better understand drug addiction and the detoxification process. Her task in this study is evident when she states ” I understood my task as an anthropologist to conjure up the social life that produced these signs, to give it flesh and depth, that is why I went to New Mexico to study heroin- to try to give purpose and meaning to an aspect of American Life that had become dangerously ordinary, even cliché.”(5, Garcia) She is clearly there to learn and then interpret that which she finds. In observing she is doing what Roberta Edwards

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.

Nonmedical Prescription-Opioid abuse in the United States and Michigan has continued to rise, and with it, the devastating results that accompany it. Research has shown that increased opioid abuse leads to an increase in overdose and death, increases in crime and increased incidences of costly blood borne diseases like HIV, AIDS and Hepatitis. It also leads to increased societal costs, such as an increasing number of children in foster care and increased healthcare, workplace and criminal justice costs that can decimate communities and local budgets. Many communities were caught with their heads in the sand, as they were overwhelmed by the influx of prescription opioids into their communities. When policies were finally implemented to curb the amount of prescription opioids in their communities, rates of heroin use (also an opioid) began to skyrocket and people began realizing they had an opioid epidemic on their hands. How to combat this heroin epidemic has been the topic of many debates. This article will attempt to examine the relationship of nonmedical prescription-opioid abuse and its effects on heroin use.

Opioids and opioid addiction obviously effect those who find themselves abusing such drugs both legally and illegally. Arguably one of the worst effects of opioids is the destruction of the family unit. One thing that holds true is, no matter what type of family structure one lives in, every person in the family (both immediate and sometimes extended) is effected by the trauma of a family members abuse. Abuse can diminish a family’s financial, physical, and mental well-being.4 Any family of an opioid abuser is traumatized; however lower class families suffer the most. The financial instability and often nontraditional unit structure of lower class families renders them venerable to the negative constructs of opioid addiction.

“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

In a small town, everyone is affected by the heroin epidemic. Close-knit families and communities are torn apart by the heroin. The drug affects individuals across every

I have chosen to conduct my research on Mexican narcocorridos, which are Mexican ballads that glorify the illegal narcotics industry. In my paper, I seek to define the history of this type of music, describe the negative implications the music may place on the culture, and attempt to identify any intelligence that can be gained. Interestingly, this sub-genre of music is hugely popular with Mexican-Americans who live along the west coast and have never visited Mexico.

We learn from the book that the number of drug dealers has a correlation with the loss of jobs of East Harlem residents. Losing jobs prevents people from providing basic needs to themselves and their family. Most of the residents who live in El Barrio are Latino such as Porto Ricans, Mexicans, and Dominicans. Latina/os are a key population in which to study substance abuse. Given their levels of poverty, minority status, and residential concentration in areas with wide drug and alcohol distribution, Latina/os are considered at risk for substance abuse (Verissimo, Gee, Ford & Iguchi, 2014). As stated by Philippe, the main point of this book is not about substance abuse, it is about his first hand experiences with the culture and poverty of East Harlem. It is about the struggles that people there have to go through in order to survive in an extremely poor area of one of the riches city in the world..