The Sociological Paradigm Of Drugs And Drug Use

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

Predominantly, the idea of addiction falls under the sociological concept of deviance. Research has identified drug use predominantly as a problem of young males, whereas prescription drug use is principally a problem of middle-aged and older women (Adrian, 2003). According to the sociological idea of conformity, individuals who are around others who misuse substances or use them illegally will eventually give in and follow the norm their social group has initiated and partake in addictive substance use. Hence, because of sociological research, it is evident that drug use and abuse and addictions are a deviant behavior that individuals have learned through the idea of conformity and following an idea popular in an individual’s culture or

In the 1960s, drug culture was popularized through music and mass media, in our current society we still find this relevant. Although we are more knowledgeable about drugs and alcohol, “an estimated 208 million people internationally consume illegal drugs.” The question is why do we conform to a society that is dependent on such substances? Perhaps drug culture is still present due to the references we witness on a daily basis. Witnessing this has resulted in drugs being a constant norm in society, the recently published novel, The Other Wes Moore; addresses drug culture.

1b. List and describe briefly the major structures of the brain, as presented in your textbook, including the function of those elements that are most related to psychoactive drug reaction.

Introduction - Use of psychoactive substances for recreational purposes is not a radically new social issue. In fact, history tells us that almost every society had their own pharmacopeia of herbs, potions, and substances that not only contributed to healing, but also allowed the user to escape reality (Schules 1992, 4-5). However, it is the contemporary use of psychoactive drugs purchased through illicit or illegal channels and used by persons neither prescribed nor in quantities larger than necessary that defines modern drug abuse (Robins 2006). Prior to World War I, substances like morphine, heroin, and cocaine were available in the major American cities, particularly those with active international ports. For instance, when Chinese immigrants were first imported to work in the mines and railroads during the early 1800s, they brought opium to America. It was the leisure class, who began to experiment with this drug, and, as in Europe, many major U.S. cities had so-called opium dens. In addition, there were a substantial number of "society women" who ended up addicted because their doctor prescribed this drug to deal with female histrionics or to "cure" an excessive sexual appetite (Johnson 2002). Within major cities, this problem began to spill over into other groups: prostitutes, child laborers, orphans, and even men and women of lower social classes seeking to escape the harshness of their lives (Courtwright 2002, 3-19). Between the widespread use and general

In addition to the escapism that frequent drug use may provide extremely disadvantaged individuals, the severe poverty and almost total lack of decent employment opportunity characterizing these communities has made drug dealing among the most lucrative and attractive, if locally despised, sources of employment. Despite the fact that the vast majority of all lower-class residents resist this temptation, drug sales is a form of employment in an otherwise extremely poor and opportunity-deprived environment that can provide the symbols of success so valued in society. As E. Anderson (1999) has noted on these issues,

A social issue that has been around for years is drug abuse. Sociologist can apply the three major sociological perspectives to analyze how society influences people to carry out certain acts by setting up a framework for specific reasoning. The different concepts used all together gives sociologists a broader and less biased conclusion of the issue.

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.

Drug culture in the United States is constantly portrayed in the media and various entertainment outlets. The heavy presence of drug use in mainstream music, television, and news, is often glorified or excessively denounced, causing many to hold misconceptions about the factual consequences illegal drugs have on the human body. The United States Drug Enforcement Agency has categorized illegal drugs into five groups: narcotics, stimulants, depressants, hallucinogens, and drugs of concern.

The film does an excellent job of accurately portraying substance use disorder (SUD). The film utilizes scenes with intense close-ups to allow viewers to experience the addict’s reality through the perspective of the addict. Each character finds themselves trapped inside their own obsessions and are consumed and pushed to the extremes. According to National Institute of Drug Abuse (NIDA) (2013), regular heroin use alters the functioning of the brain which results to tolerance or dependence. Tolerance results when more of the drug is needed to

Furthermore there are many reasons why people first start using drugs, but most are centered around pleasure or the expectation of increased efficiency or creativity. Initially most substance produce an effect such as euphoria or relief from anxiety, sadness and tension. This may be intensified by social circumstances that the individual confronts and many of the substances allow him to forget adverse life circumstances. In addition alcohol or the use of drugs can also give self-confidence and access to a new group of friends. In time many substances create new problems, difficulties are ignored, minimized or wrongly attributed to another causes and the user have difficulty in evaluating the advantages and disadvantage of continuing to use them.The addicts often describe their drug or alcohol use to ‘uncontrollable urges and cravings‘, craving is a desire for the substance and an urge is the internal drive or the stimulus to act on the desire, if a craving cannot be satisfied, for example understanding , an individual may turn to another such as substance use. Richards, D et all (2007)

The seven contemporary approaches or theories in psychology include Biological, Behavioral Psychodynamic, Humanistic, Cognitive, Evolutionary, Sociocultural. These seven contemporary approaches allow us to interpret the behavior of individuals. Each perspective makes certain assumptions about human behavior. For this analysis we will review the behavioral and sociocultural approaches in psychology and compare how they interpret drug use.

When I first had any thoughts about the war on drugs I believed that this issue had nearly been completely eradicated due to the tireless efforts of law enforcement. One of my preconceived ideas was that the individuals involved in this trade lacked any autonomy of what they were doing to their societies. But one thing that I never doubted was that those in charge of these drug-dealings were cunning and calculated people. Through applying various sociological concepts such as; the influence of race, ethnicity, bureaucracies, among other sociological ideas one can see that there is more to the war on drugs than people selling narcotics and people buying narcotics. An important sociological term to familiarize oneself with to understand this

Drug use in America is one of the major issues we face and the problem has skyrocketed over the past three decades. Heroin and painkiller addictions exceed all other countries. It is important that we address some of the causes that lead to the abuse, how to treat the abuse, and how to prevent the distribution of illegal prescription drugs.

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.