What Is Carl's Self-Fulfilling Prophecy

Critically discuss what Howard Parker et al (1998) mean by the normalisation of recreational drug use. How convinced are you by this explanation of the contemporary drug situation?

In sociology, the definition of a drug is “any chemical substance that has a direct affect on the user’s physical, psychological, and/or intellectual functioning” (“Drugs” 3). According to this definition, many people may argue that the United States is a pro-drug society because of its legalization of alcohol, tobacco, and pharmaceuticals, however I believe that the United States is an anti-drug society. Although the United States has legalized tobacco, alcohol, and pharmaceuticals, there are many drugs that are still illegal. It can be assume that these illegal drugs they are dangerous and somehow poses a threat to society, but its illegalization has more to do with economics and power more than anything else. According to the film, “A Marijuana

Proponents on the legalization of drugs believe if drugs were to become legal; the black market worth billions of dollars would become extinct, drug gangsters would disappear, addicts would stop committing crimes to support their habit and the prison system would not be overwhelmed with a problem they cannot defeat. The decriminalization of drugs will only make illegal drugs cheaper, easier to get and more acceptable to use. “The U.S. has 20 million alcoholics and alcohol misusers, but only around 6 million illegal drug addicts. If illegal drugs were easier to obtain, this figure would rise”(Should Drugs be decriminalized? No.November 09, 2007 Califano Joseph A, Jr).”

A BRIDGE TO WISEMANS COVE By James Maloney *Compare the character of Carl at the end of the novel with the person you met at the start*

Legal Drugs Unlikely to Foster Nation of Zombies The passage by Stephen Chapman “Legal Drugs Unlikely to Foster Nation of Zombies” concludes that drugs should be legalized. The question then remains, would the population become drug fueled zombies? Chapman does not believe this would occur and makes various cases

According to DrugAbuse.gov, long-term studies of drug use patterns show that most high school students who use other illegal drugs have tried marijuana first. Teens are often peer pressured into doing drugs; they get to comfortable with them they inevitably reframe to harder and more potent drugs. In Cole Meyer’s short story, “Addiction” the narrator is a struggling teen addict and his addiction continues to worsen as he ages. Meyer uses setting, character and conflict to illustrate the devastating effects of addiction on the individual.

Using and “dealing pot to friends” (Ponzio, 1999) was a choice made by Jimmy, one that was influenced by his surroundings. As the article Major Perspectives in Psychology states, the Sociocultural Perspective “suggests that human behavior is influenced by social context, environmental cues, social pressures and cultural influences” (Columbia College, n.d.). During the 1960’s, the culture encouraged the use and sale of pot, a norm activity for the “in crowd.” This is exactly what Jimmy did, “‘Do you get high, Bobby?’ ‘Every chance I

A large majority of what I learned was familiar due to the fact I’ve taken an array of social science classes as well as investigated on my own the workings of our society. I’ve always been intrigued with the invisible mechanics of life and because of my lack of social skills, I frequently suppose the role of an analyzer. I think the sociological imagination was the most interesting concept because it provided me with a greater range of tools to analyze the way I see things. The concept felt like someone perfectly stated what I was thinking. I know this isn’t common to be publicly expressed, but I feel as though drugs are one of the ways to tap into the sociological imagination. The effects of marijuana are enjoyable to me mostly because I think of things in an entirely different perspective than ever before. This may not be true for everyone but drugs offer us, if we’re aware, a different perspective on life. I often wonder whether I spend more time attending to my experience or analyzing it and attempting to make sense of

Even though it is illegal if the drug abusers have not been caught they will continue to use the drug and use others. Many adolescences experiment with marijuana due to curiosity and peer pressure studies have shown that the use of marijuana at a young age causes the adolescences to want to try more dangerous narcotics such as cocaine and heroin. An article titled “Evidence That Marijuana Is a Gateway to other Illicit Drug Use” by Joseph Gfoerer, Li-Tzy Wu, and Michael Penne states that, “the highest prevalence of use of heroin, cocaine, and psychotherapeutics in the lifetime was noted among those who initiated marijuana before they were 15 years old. With many young people trying strong narcotics illegally it is no surprise that other young people will also become more apt to try these heavier drugs. The article, “Marijuana is a Dangerous Drug for Teens” by Joseph Calfifano discuses why marijuana is so dangerous for teens and how the gateway effect plays part in this problem. The article states that marijuana use is a “signal of trouble”, the troubles include lack of growth, focus, and motor skills. He also brings up the gateway effect in the article the statistics he uses include, “Twelve to seventeen year olds who smoke marijuana are eighty five times more likely to use cocaine than those who would not.” These statists are very strong in

The article, “Hooked on Just Saying No”, was written to address the problems of the War on Drugs. It discussed the problems with prohibition. Back in the early 20th century, America’s prohibition of alcohol failed; it caused social and economic problems all over America. When alcohol became legalized, bootleggers ended up becoming legal brewers and distillers, becoming wealthy from the profit. However, “prohibited drugs could yield even bigger profits than prohibited alcohol” (the Economist). Therefore, after marijuana becomes legal, it should be controlled and regulated, to prevent the monopolization of the market. Taxation of marijuana and less incarceration for marijuana would yield economic benefits to the government, leading to more funding for productive activities such as better education and drug rehabilitation.

I found this week’s documentary to be very informative and powerful. The video opened my eyes to the way in which people view marijuana versus other drugs and the stereotypes they have related to drug users. The video also demonstrated that many individuals do not see marijuana users as real addicts or as the stereotypical “addict”. Most people view marijuana use as less serious and as a second-class drug problem. I believe that those who have a problem whether it is with drugs, alcohol, or any other addictions should be treated with proper care. It is not a joke to have addictive behaviors and these can ultimately lead to destroying ones life or even death. The DSM explains, substance dependence as a maladaptive pattern of substance use, leading to clinically significant impairment or distress within a 12-month period and describes the criteria list for this as having 3 out of 7 detailed symptoms (American Psychiatric Association, 2013).

The second reason that the government should not legalize marijuana is that doing so will send the message that is okay to use other psychoactive drugs. Legalizing marijuana could result in advertising of this drug to adolescents. A study was conducted during 2003 showing that roughly 48 percent of twelfth graders reported using alcohol in the past thirty days and 24 percent reported smoking cigarettes in the past thirty days. Household access to illicit substances is coupled with a greater risk of marijuana use among both younger and older adolescents. This is often coupled with parental drug use which sends the message that it is okay to use psychoactive drugs (Joffe & Yancy, 2004, p. e636). The general idea is that we, as people, shouldn’t be making it easier for our children to get drugs. Thus far, it is shown that there is a struggle to educate the youth to avoid the use of psychoactive drugs. However, certain organizations, such as DARE (Drug Abuse Resistance Education), have made solid efforts to

Many people hold extreme views regarding drugs, especially illegal drugs. Anti-drug individuals often present a view of all illegal drugs as horrendous and without any redeeming qualities. I used to be this individual. Before my newfound discovery I believed marijuana usage was unacceptable , while despising the users. I perceived marijuana as a gateway drugs to other harmful dangerous drugs and a narcotic that honestly ruined individuals lives. Personally I believed that marijuana made individuals lazy , while forcing users into having lackadaisical motivational attitudes and being negligent with their futures and education.

Thank you for reading and criticizing my paper! I see your reasoning why you do not support legalizing drugs because you believe that they can cause a lot of harm to people, but so does drinking alcohol or smoking cigarettes and they are legal for us to use and consume.

I recently read and analyzed a speech given by Nancy Reagan entitled “Just Say No”. In the late 1980s, around the time that Nancy Reagan gave her speech the U.S was facing a major drug problem. During that time a new drug, cocaine, was recently introduced. Because this new drug was cheap and addictive, youth drug addictions became a major problem. As a result of the drug problems many people spoke out against it, one of these individuals was Nancy Reagan in her Just Say No Speech (Decades of Drug Use: The '80s and '90s, 2002). After analyzing he r speech I feel it was successfully persuasive. In the speech Nancy Reagan described how bad drugs can be, she described how the citizens of the United States can work together to solve this problem, and finally she described what life will be like for young people if they grow up and do not do drugs. (Reagan, 1986)