The Use Of Drugs And Its Effects On Social Status

The use and misuse of illicit drugs in today’s society can be blamed on both individual, and societal factors. With the use of societal factors researchers can show the effect for a larger population, and provide better information of the population. Blaming the individual for developing the addiction will not fix issues that lie in society that worked against the individual, the underlying issues of poverty and addiction, many scholarly articles mention bad neighborhoods, low income, and loose family ties with future drug use. I will be using evidence from articles involving both teen and adult drug use and addiction, as the effect on society is noticed in both age brackets. “Substance use is considered a problem by individual addicts who seek treatment, by institutions within society (such as the police or the medical system) that deal with substance use and its consequences on a day-to-day basis, and by national organizations such as governments or supranational organizations, such as the International Narcotics Control Board (a United Nations agency located in Vienna). (Adrian) I will be using scholarly articles to explain the sociological reasoning behind drug use, with theories involving low-income neighborhoods, leading to lessening of family involvement which can lead to drug use. “Drug abuse affects a community 's living conditions and economy, its youth, and the environment for crime.” (Watts)

Drug addiction is a crippling problem in the United States, and has the possibility of affecting every single person. May it be from someone in the upper class, to a single mother who is living in poverty, this form of substance abuse is becoming more and more abundant in recent times. Unfortunately, many people who have never dealt with or looked into substance abuse often blame the individual for what happened. The sociological imagination, on the other hand, says otherwise. According to C Wright Mills’ sociological imagination, private troubles, such as substance abuse, often have a root in public issues of social structure. Sadly, the societal roots of many issues are not seen by others, causing the individual and their choices to be seen as the cause of their problem. In turn, this view may support a punitive perspective against the person in question. In the case of Brittney May, her drug addiction had started at a relatively young age, and as a result of it, she had ended up in prison. Although she has been released after her first long sentence, she ended up being convicted again, and is currently in prison. Additionally, her prison sentence ended up making her lose custody of her child. Fortunately, her old mother agreed to take care of that child.

Residents who come from low income levels are more likely to agree that “Drug dealing can be a good way for people to raise themselves out of poverty” (Wallisch and Spence, 2006, p. 296). Although most residents are aware that drug trafficking is connected with corruption and violence, their economic deprivation has created community norms that tolerate the economic advantages brought by drug trafficking. Individuals who chose to be drug users are more aware of the availability of drugs and chose to live in neighborhoods of higher drug

This paper explores drug abuse as a problem that crosses ethnic lines for all Americans and translates to a major problem for all society. The articles used show the impact of drug abuse and how it is felt by all Americans. As a result of this paper, the author has discovered the institutional response to drug abuse and how it is felt disproportionately among the poor and among African Americans and Hispanics. According to the research it was discovered from a global survey data from the World Health Organization, that Americans are more likely to try illegal drugs than anyone else in the world. Approximately forty-two percent of American adults have tried marijuana and Americans are also number one in terms of annual prescription

Studies indicate that drug abuse is currently on the rise. The results are not limited to an increase in the number of deaths but also in the amount that individuals control. Notably, not only is it in the cities, it continually spreads to neighboring suburbs. Consequently, the number of death toll has more than doubled within a short period. Clearly, the drug is but to be labeled as a threat to the existence of the human race. Recent research indicates that the drug is becoming more prevalent among the whites especially women. Concretely, the increase is a result of the low prices it fetches

The source of the vitriolic criminalization of people who use drugs stems from the perspective of drug usage being a representation of moral weakness, or even of “willful misconduct” rather than a health issue. The view of people with addiction as inherently violent has led to the emergence of widespread opioid addiction being treated as a law enforcement issue. This stigmatization of drugs and the people who use them will be discussed further below.

The issue of drug abuse is a sad reality in every community, and drug prohibition is present across the globe. Whether it is under the guise of protection of family values, or public safety, prohibition disrupts more than it maintains. Many people view drugs as a problem but they can also be viewed as a problem solver. This essay will address the socioeconomic issues with prohibition of hard drugs, and argue for their legalization.

Drug users are outcast by society and drug dealers are viewed as dangerous and violent (Bertram et al., 1996).

As U.S. Drug Policy has become more politicized, the number of laws for using, and possessing illegal substances has increased, and the number of those using illicit drugs has risen.  Though drug policies were created with the intent of protecting the public, a gap has developed between different groups - the “drug warriors” and the “legalizers”.  These polarizing groups advocate opposing, often politically-driven views that result in overly punitive drug penalties that are expensive, racially disparate, and totally ineffective. Consequently, movements inspiring a drug counter culture against this oppression has emerged in America and illicit drug use has increased.  By the second half of the 20th century the major importation of illegal narcotics and the drug war were just getting started.

where the wider economy is not receptive to these dislocated people, the underground economy is. That does not mean that anyone without a job is suddenly going to become a drug dealer; the process is not that simple. But the facts of race relations, unemployment, dislocation, and destitution create alienation, and alienation allows for a certain receptivity to overtures made by people seeking youthful new recruits for the drug trade. (p. 120)

This shows the profitability of the drug trade and the absolute dependence on the underground economy for those under the poverty line in El Barrio to survive. Bourgois’ conversations also revealed that many were trapped in the drug trade and strongly desired to earn money legally but due to a lack of education were unable to get a legal job that is regular and sufficient (p.114). Bourgois uncovered that many struggled in the legal job market due to institutionalised racism and the culture shock between life in El Barrio and the outside working world (p.145, pp.158-161). Bourgois was also able to gain important information about the dealer’s school experiences which essentially ruined their chances of making a legal life for themselves as many experienced violence and ridicule at the hands of the public schooling system and dropped out early (pp.174-178). Showing the value and strength of the participant observation fieldwork.

While drugs attract users in all economic levels, it appears to be especially prevalent among those living in poverty. One possible explanation is that at the poverty level there is little

People like the poor live hard lives and use drugs as an escape. Arnold Trebach in his study saw heroin playing an important role in the treatment of sick people (Brownstein, 2000: 21). Criminologist Edwin Schur asked “Why are we continuing to treat the addict as a criminal when he is in need of our help?” (Brownstein, 2000: 21). Many of these people made good arguments about why drugs were going to stay and why we need them.

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.

There are a few different social dynamics behind drug use amongst different work/social classes. Largely, a reason why someone would start the use of drugs would depend on their social environment. These individuals are strongly influenced by their families and peers. According to the textbook, drug use has been related to the lower class (Faupel, et al. 199). Within this class, their families and peers could easily influence the drug use. Being in a financial bind, I would imagine it would be discouraging to be in a lower-class and possibly would influence drug use as well? During the 60s, some drugs became “acceptable” to be used by the middle-class (Faupel, et al. 199). There have been generations since then, so it is likely that current middle-class people were influenced by their parents/grandparents use during the 60s.