Drug Use Essay, Research Paper

There are few other social problems that are surrounded by more myths and misinformation than drug use. The confusion actually starts with the meaning of the term. Many people believe that only illegal substances such as heroin, cocaine, or marijuana are drugs, but alcohol and tobacco alter the minds and moods of those who use them and can be just as dangerous as illicit drugs. Also drug use is not limited to a few deviants on the margin of society. Drugs are a big business: Canadians spend billions of dollars a year for coffee, tea, tobacco, and alcohol, and the manufacturers of these products have a respected place among the corporate giants of today s economy.

DRUGS AND DRUG ADDICTION

Drug abuse is usually defined as drug use that causes significant social, psychological, or physical harm to the user. Addiction is referred to as the intense craving for a drug that develops after a period of physical dependence. By examining such things as the percentage of users who become dependant on a particular drug, the difficulty in stopping use, and the relapse rate, researchers are able to asses how addictive different drugs are. When measured by such criteria, nicotine is the most addictive, followed by heroin, cocaine, and alcohol. Second from the bottom is caffeine and the least addictive of the commonly used drugs is marijuana. (Hilts, New York Times, p. B6.)

The use of alcohol is an accepted part of our culture. The fact that it is so widely accepted and so widely used means that it also creates more problems that other drugs. Alcohol is called a depressant because it slows down the activity of the central nervous system and thereby impedes coordination, reaction time, and reasoning ability. Large doses of alcohol produce disorientation, loss of consciousness, and even death. (Schlaadt and Shannon, Drugs, p.175.) Prolonged heavy drinking also creates a number of health problems: malnutrition, liver damage, heart problems, higher cancer rate and may contribute to various birth defects in their children.

Cigarette smoking has been linked to cancer of the larynx, mouth, and esophagus, as well as to lung cancer. Other diseases linked to smoking include bronchitis, emphysema, ulcers, and heart circulatory disorders. It is estimated that smoking more than two packs of cigarettes a day reduces normal life expectancy by eight years. (Schlaadt and Shannon, Drugs, p.116-150.) Nicotine is a stimulant that raises blood pressure, speeds up the heartbeat, and gives the user a sense of alertness. However, nicotine seems to have the contradictory effect of producing a feeling of relaxation and calm in most smokers.

Marijuana is the most widely used illegal drug. The health hazards of marijuana are still the subject of an emotional debate because many of the numerous claims made about the damaged caused by marijuana have later proven to be false. The current

evidence indicates that the main health hazard in marijuana use is the risk of cancer and other lung problems caused by inhaling the smoke. There is also evidence that marijuana ma y harm the user s unborn baby.(Ray and Ksir, Drugs, Society, and human behavior, p.199-202.) Thus, those who claim that marijuana is harmless are wrong. There are clearly significant health hazards involved in the excessive use of marijuana.

The opiates are a group of natural ( opium, codeine, morphine, and heroin) and synthetic ( meperidine, methadone) depressants, all of which are highly addictive. Users rapidly develop a tolerance and must continually increase their dosage to get the same effect. (Schlaadt and Shannon, Drugs, p.215.) Opiate addiction has serious consequences for the health of the user but most of these problems come not from the drug itself but from the opiate addict s self-destructive lifestyle. The major problem is that addicts often share needles without proper sterilization, and this practice spreads diseases such as AIDS.

Cocaine is a natural stimulant derived from the leaves of the coca plant. Heavy cocaine users may experience personality change and even psychotic episodes, but the most frequent psychological effect is the irritability and depression that occur when the drug wears off. The easiest way to avoid such discomfort is by taking more and this is why compulsive cocaine use is a widespread problem.(Schlaadt and Shannon, Drugs, p.91-100.)

Anabolic steroids are a synthetic drug similar in structure to the male hormone testosterone. They are not taken for their immediate psychological effects but for building muscle and increasing athletic performances. The side effects of steroids may include elevated cholesterol levels, high blood pressure, heart problems, irritability, liver damage, and sterility. In males, heavy steroid use may cause atrophy of the testicles, and heavy female users may develop some male characteristics such as a deeper voice and more body hair. (Schlaadt and Shannon, Drugs, p.39-44.)

SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGICAL THEORIES ON DRUG USE

BIOLOGICAL THEORIES

Many researchers believe that some people are born with a biological susceptibility to drug problems. Some studies have attempted to find the exact biochemical reason that one person is more susceptible to alcoholism than another. The evidence shows that alcoholics have higher levels of a chemical known as acetaldehyde that is produced by the metabolic breakdown of alcohol in the body. Some researchers hold that these high levels of acetaldehyde are the result, not the cause, of alcoholism. Others argue that people who are better able to metabolize alcohol are more likely to become alcoholics because these people in particular show a higher tolerance of alcohol they drink more heavily, which in turn creates more of the chemicals that create the physical addiction to alcohol.(Ray and Ksir, Drugs, Society, and Human Behavior, p.314-319.)

PERSONALITY THEORIES

Many psychologists have tried to explain drug problems by investigating users personalities but there is no general agreement among psychologists about the personality characteristics of drug abusers. Drug addicts have been classified as narcissists, psychopaths, sociopaths, dependant personalities, immature, schizophrenic, neurotic, and character-disordered. The most common theory is that alcoholics and drug addicts have weak personalities, and low self-esteem, and therefore turn to drugs to try and escape their problems. G.E. Barnes argues that there is an alcoholic personality that display such characteristics as neuroticism, weak ego, stimulus augmentation, and field dependency. (Barnes, Journal of Studies on Alcohol, p. 622) Because these traits may be a response to alcohol rather than its cause, psychologists also talk about a prealcoholic personality. The characteristics that are believed to lead to alcoholism include impulsivity, gregariousness, and nonconformity. (Ray and Ksir, Drugs, Society, and Human Behavior, p.160)

INTERACTIONIST THEORY

Most social psychologists see drug use simply a s one more behavior pattern that is learned from interaction with others from our culture. They observe that most people in our society who drink alcohol do so not because they have a personality defect or a biological urge to drink but because drinking is a widely accepted social pattern. The key point in the interactionist theory is that drug use is determined by the individuals

attitudes towards drugs, the meaning drug use has for them, their overall world view, and their systems of values — all of which are learned from interaction with people in a certain culture or subculture. Drug users, according to interactionalist theory, quit only when their attitudes and values change, and the drugs involved are redefined in negative terms. (Coleman, Sociological Quarterly, p.555-564.)

RESPONSES TO THE DRUG PROBLEM

PREVENTION

Many people agree that the best way to deal with the drug problem is to prevent young people from ever starting and one common approach to this is to try and frighten them by presenting horror stories in drug education classes. Another approach that has been widely used is public-service advertising about the problems caused by drugs.

TREATMENT

Treatment programs attempt to stop using drugs after they have already developed a problem. The most successful treatment programs involve some kind of group therapy. Alcoholics Anonymous (AA), one of the oldest such groups, is now a worldwide organization. The AA program is religiously oriented, but its success seems to derive primarily from its system of encouraging each member to try to reform others, thus reinforcing the reformer s own nondrinking behavior. There are also successful

nonreligious programs such as Rational Recovery (RR) and the Secular Organization for Sobriety (SOS), which follow the same principle but emphasize individual responsibility instead of the reliance on a higher power as AA does.(Ray and Ksir, Drugs, Society, and Human Behavior, p.360-362.)

LEGAL REPRESSION

When the use of a particular drug comes to be seen as a problem, the most common response is a legal one — prohibiting the manufacture and sale of the drug, and punishing the users. This approach has been used with almost every psychoactive drugs used in North America except caffeine and nicotine. The assumption is that people will not use drugs if there are simply none available or they are threatened with jail, but it is difficult to evaluate the success of this approach: opiate use decreased sharply after it was declared illegal, but marijuana use has increased enormously since its prohibition. Supporters of this approach argue that its failures are due to a lack of tough laws and enough money to enforce them. (Schlaadt and Shannon, Drugs, p.238-243.)

INCREASED SOCIAL TOLERANCE

Supporters of this approach claim that a less punitive reaction to drug use would reduce the negative side effects stemming from legal repression and in the long run reduce the need for treatment.

LEGALIZATION. Proponents of legalization believe that attempts at legal repression of drug use have been so disastrous that the problem can be solved only by taking the government out of the business of enforcing drug laws. In practice, regulation by government agencies would undoubtedly continue, as it does in the case of alcohol.

DECRIMINALIZATION. This is a step halfway between prohibition and full legalization. Its advocates argue that the penalties for possession and use of a given drug should be dropped, but that the sale of drugs should continue to be illegal. The aim is to stop punishing those who use drugs since they are not hurting anyone else, and instead discourage use indirectly by forbidding sales. Critics of this policy point to the contradiction between allowing legal possession but penalizing sale or purchase.

MAINTENANCE. Through maintenance programs addicts or habitual users can be supplied with a drug while it is still prohibited among the public at large. The only legal maintenance program involves the distribution of methadone (a synthetic opiate) to heroin addicts. Critics of maintenance programs argue that methadone is just another narcotic and that dispensing it to heroin users does nothing to solve their addiction problem.

THE DUTCH APPROACH. Many advocates of a new approach to the drug problem point to the Netherlands as a possible model. The Dutch drug policy is of four

combined elements. The first is the official tolerance of soft drugs such as marijuana and hashish. The second is a tough enforcement effort aimed at the dealers of hard drugs, such as heroin and cocaine. The third element of Dutch policy is the decriminalization of all users. No one is jailed for merely possessing small amounts or using any drug. Finally, the Dutch have made treatment and maintenance programs easily available to all addicts. Since this program was begun, Holland has seen a sharp decline in the number of heroin addicts and an increase in their average age. (Tempest, Los Angeles Times, p. A1, A10-11.)

SOCIOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVES ON DRUG USE

THE FUNCTIONALIST PERSPECTIVE

The functionalist theory concerns itself with the social conditions that have caused the tremendous increase in drug use in industrial society. Many functionalists assume that drug use provides a means of escaping from difficult and unpleasant social circumstances and consequently, is seen as a response to other social problems, such as poverty, worker alienation, and racism. To these functionalists, the way to reduce substance abuse is to deal with its underlying causes. However, other functionalists feel that the use of drugs is inherently pleasurable and that despite the serious consequences, people will take drugs unless prevented from doing so. The steep increase in drug consumption in the twentieth century is seen as a result of the weakening of the family

and religious institutions that formerly kept antisocial behavior in check. The most direct way to deal with the drug problem is therefore to strengthen these institutions.

THE CONFICT PERSPECTIVE

Some conflict theorists argue that drug use will decrease only after we create a just society, free from racism, poverty, and oppression. Others believe that drug use itself is neither escapist nor a social problem, but rather a normal behavior that occurs in all societies around the world. According to these theorists, drug use only becomes a problem when groups who oppose drug use the power of the state to force their morality on everyone else. The result of such actions is social conflict, violent repression of drug users, and a booming black market. Conflict theorists also say that the attempt to repress drug use creates secondary social problems such as organized crime and a seething discontent with the legal system. Those with this point of view advocate a simple solution to the drug problem: Legalize the prohibited drugs and stop jailing people who have done nothing worse than refusing to accept the dominant society s idea of what is good for them. If drug users victimize others to support their habit, they should be sent to prison; otherwise they should be left alone.

There are few other social problems that are surrounded by more myths and misinformation than drug use. The confusion actually starts with the meaning of the term. Many people believe that only illegal substances such as heroin, cocaine, or marijuana are drugs, but alcohol and tobacco alter the minds and moods of those who use them and can be just as dangerous as illicit drugs. Also drug use is not limited to a few deviants on the margin of society. Drugs are a big business: Canadians spend billions of dollars a year for coffee, tea, tobacco, and alcohol, and the manufacturers of these products have a respected place among the corporate giants of today s economy.

DRUGS AND DRUG ADDICTION

Drug abuse is usually defined as drug use that causes significant social, psychological, or physical harm to the user. Addiction is referred to as the intense craving for a drug that develops after a period of physical dependence. By examining such things as the percentage of users who become dependant on a particular drug, the difficulty in stopping use, and the relapse rate, researchers are able to asses how addictive different drugs are. When measured by such criteria, nicotine is the most addictive, followed by heroin, cocaine, and alcohol. Second from the bottom is caffeine and the least addictive of the commonly used drugs is marijuana. (Hilts, New York Times, p. B6.)

The use of alcohol is an accepted part of our culture. The fact that it is so widely accepted and so widely used means that it also creates more problems that other drugs. Alcohol is called a depressant because it slows down the activity of the central nervous system and thereby impedes coordination, reaction time, and reasoning ability. Large doses of alcohol produce disorientation, loss of consciousness, and even death. (Schlaadt and Shannon, Drugs, p.175.) Prolonged heavy drinking also creates a number of health problems: malnutrition, liver damage, heart problems, higher cancer rate and may contribute to various birth defects in their children.

Cigarette smoking has been linked to cancer of the larynx, mouth, and esophagus, as well as to lung cancer. Other diseases linked to smoking include bronchitis, emphysema, ulcers, and heart circulatory disorders. It is estimated that smoking more than two packs of cigarettes a day reduces normal life expectancy by eight years. (Schlaadt and Shannon, Drugs, p.116-150.) Nicotine is a stimulant that raises blood pressure, speeds up the heartbeat, and gives the user a sense of alertness. However, nicotine seems to have the contradictory effect of producing a feeling of relaxation and calm in most smokers.

Marijuana is the most widely used illegal drug. The health hazards of marijuana are still the subject of an emotional debate because many of the numerous claims made about the damaged caused by marijuana have later proven to be false. The current

evidence indicates that the main health hazard in marijuana use is the risk of cancer and other lung problems caused by inhaling the smoke. There is also evidence that marijuana ma y harm the user s unborn baby.(Ray and Ksir, Drugs, Society, and human behavior, p.199-202.) Thus, those who claim that marijuana is harmless are wrong. There are clearly significant health hazards involved in the excessive use of marijuana.

The opiates are a group of natural ( opium, codeine, morphine, and heroin) and synthetic ( meperidine, methadone) depressants, all of which are highly addictive. Users rapidly develop a tolerance and must continually increase their dosage to get the same effect. (Schlaadt and Shannon, Drugs, p.215.) Opiate addiction has serious consequences for the health of the user but most of these problems come not from the drug itself but from the opiate addict s self-destructive lifestyle. The major problem is that addicts often share needles without proper sterilization, and this practice spreads diseases such as AIDS.

Cocaine is a natural stimulant derived from the leaves of the coca plant. Heavy cocaine users may experience personality change and even psychotic episodes, but the most frequent psychological effect is the irritability and depression that occur when the drug wears off. The easiest way to avoid such discomfort is by taking more and this is why compulsive cocaine use is a widespread problem.(Schlaadt and Shannon, Drugs, p.91-100.)

Anabolic steroids are a synthetic drug similar in structure to the male hormone testosterone. They are not taken for their immediate psychological effects but for building muscle and increasing athletic performances. The side effects of steroids may include elevated cholesterol levels, high blood pressure, heart problems, irritability, liver damage, and sterility. In males, heavy steroid use may cause atrophy of the testicles, and heavy female users may develop some male characteristics such as a deeper voice and more body hair. (Schlaadt and Shannon, Drugs, p.39-44.)

SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGICAL THEORIES ON DRUG USE

BIOLOGICAL THEORIES

Many researchers believe that some people are born with a biological susceptibility to drug problems. Some studies have attempted to find the exact biochemical reason that one person is more susceptible to alcoholism than another. The evidence shows that alcoholics have higher levels of a chemical known as acetaldehyde that is produced by the metabolic breakdown of alcohol in the body. Some researchers hold that these high levels of acetaldehyde are the result, not the cause, of alcoholism. Others argue that people who are better able to metabolize alcohol are more likely to become alcoholics because these people in particular show a higher tolerance of alcohol they drink more heavily, which in turn creates more of the chemicals that create the physical addiction to alcohol.(Ray and Ksir, Drugs, Society, and Human Behavior, p.314-319.)

PERSONALITY THEORIES

Many psychologists have tried to explain drug problems by investigating users personalities but there is no general agreement among psychologists about the personality characteristics of drug abusers. Drug addicts have been classified as narcissists, psychopaths, sociopaths, dependant personalities, immature, schizophrenic, neurotic, and character-disordered. The most common theory is that alcoholics and drug addicts have weak personalities, and low self-esteem, and therefore turn to drugs to try and escape their problems. G.E. Barnes argues that there is an alcoholic personality that display such characteristics as neuroticism, weak ego, stimulus augmentation, and field dependency. (Barnes, Journal of Studies on Alcohol, p. 622) Because these traits may be a response to alcohol rather than its cause, psychologists also talk about a prealcoholic personality. The characteristics that are believed to lead to alcoholism include impulsivity, gregariousness, and nonconformity. (Ray and Ksir, Drugs, Society, and Human Behavior, p.160)

INTERACTIONIST THEORY

Most social psychologists see drug use simply a s one more behavior pattern that is learned from interaction with others from our culture. They observe that most people in our society who drink alcohol do so not because they have a personality defect or a biological urge to drink but because drinking is a widely accepted social pattern. The key point in the interactionist theory is that drug use is determined by the individuals

attitudes towards drugs, the meaning drug use has for them, their overall world view, and their systems of values — all of which are learned from interaction with people in a certain culture or subculture. Drug users, according to interactionalist theory, quit only when their attitudes and values change, and the drugs involved are redefined in negative terms. (Coleman, Sociological Quarterly, p.555-564.)

RESPONSES TO THE DRUG PROBLEM

PREVENTION

Many people agree that the best way to deal with the drug problem is to prevent young people from ever starting and one common approach to this is to try and frighten them by presenting horror stories in drug education classes. Another approach that has been widely used is public-service advertising about the problems caused by drugs.

TREATMENT

Treatment programs attempt to stop using drugs after they have already developed a problem. The most successful treatment programs involve some kind of group therapy. Alcoholics Anonymous (AA), one of the oldest such groups, is now a worldwide organization. The AA program is religiously oriented, but its success seems to derive primarily from its system of encouraging each member to try to reform others, thus reinforcing the reformer s own nondrinking behavior. There are also successful

nonreligious programs such as Rational Recovery (RR) and the Secular Organization for Sobriety (SOS), which follow the same principle but emphasize individual responsibility instead of the reliance on a higher power as AA does.(Ray and Ksir, Drugs, Society, and Human Behavior, p.360-362.)

LEGAL REPRESSION

When the use of a particular drug comes to be seen as a problem, the most common response is a legal one — prohibiting the manufacture and sale of the drug, and punishing the users. This approach has been used with almost every psychoactive drugs used in North America except caffeine and nicotine. The assumption is that people will not use drugs if there are simply none available or they are threatened with jail, but it is difficult to evaluate the success of this approach: opiate use decreased sharply after it was declared illegal, but marijuana use has increased enormously since its prohibition. Supporters of this approach argue that its failures are due to a lack of tough laws and enough money to enforce them. (Schlaadt and Shannon, Drugs, p.238-243.)

INCREASED SOCIAL TOLERANCE

Supporters of this approach claim that a less punitive reaction to drug use would reduce the negative side effects stemming from legal repression and in the long run reduce the need for treatment.

LEGALIZATION. Proponents of legalization believe that attempts at legal repression of drug use have been so disastrous that the problem can be solved only by taking the government out of the business of enforcing drug laws. In practice, regulation by government agencies would undoubtedly continue, as it does in the case of alcohol.

DECRIMINALIZATION. This is a step halfway between prohibition and full legalization. Its advocates argue that the penalties for possession and use of a given drug should be dropped, but that the sale of drugs should continue to be illegal. The aim is to stop punishing those who use drugs since they are not hurting anyone else, and instead discourage use indirectly by forbidding sales. Critics of this policy point to the contradiction between allowing legal possession but penalizing sale or purchase.

MAINTENANCE. Through maintenance programs addicts or habitual users can be supplied with a drug while it is still prohibited among the public at large. The only legal maintenance program involves the distribution of methadone (a synthetic opiate) to heroin addicts. Critics of maintenance programs argue that methadone is just another narcotic and that dispensing it to heroin users does nothing to solve their addiction problem.

THE DUTCH APPROACH. Many advocates of a new approach to the drug problem point to the Netherlands as a possible model. The Dutch drug policy is of four

combined elements. The first is the official tolerance of soft drugs such as marijuana and hashish. The second is a tough enforcement effort aimed at the dealers of hard drugs, such as heroin and cocaine. The third element of Dutch policy is the decriminalization of all users. No one is jailed for merely possessing small amounts or using any drug. Finally, the Dutch have made treatment and maintenance programs easily available to all addicts. Since this program was begun, Holland has seen a sharp decline in the number of heroin addicts and an increase in their average age. (Tempest, Los Angeles Times, p. A1, A10-11.)

SOCIOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVES ON DRUG USE

THE FUNCTIONALIST PERSPECTIVE

The functionalist theory concerns itself with the social conditions that have caused the tremendous increase in drug use in industrial society. Many functionalists assume that drug use provides a means of escaping from difficult and unpleasant social circumstances and consequently, is seen as a response to other social problems, such as poverty, worker alienation, and racism. To these functionalists, the way to reduce substance abuse is to deal with its underlying causes. However, other functionalists feel that the use of drugs is inherently pleasurable and that despite the serious consequences, people will take drugs unless prevented from doing so. The steep increase in drug consumption in the twentieth century is seen as a result of the weakening of the family

and religious institutions that formerly kept antisocial behavior in check. The most direct way to deal with the drug problem is therefore to strengthen these institutions.

THE CONFICT PERSPECTIVE

Some conflict theorists argue that drug use will decrease only after we create a just society, free from racism, poverty, and oppression. Others believe that drug use itself is neither escapist nor a social problem, but rather a normal behavior that occurs in all societies around the world. According to these theorists, drug use only becomes a problem when groups who oppose drug use the power of the state to force their morality on everyone else. The result of such actions is social conflict, violent repression of drug users, and a booming black market. Conflict theorists also say that the attempt to repress drug use creates secondary social problems such as organized crime and a seething discontent with the legal system. Those with this point of view advocate a simple solution to the drug problem: Legalize the prohibited drugs and stop jailing people who have done nothing worse than refusing to accept the dominant society s idea of what is good for them. If drug users victimize others to support their habit, they should be sent to prison; otherwise they should be left alone.