In High Price, Dr. Hart, raises pertinent issues in his article regarding drug and drug abuse while giving his life as an example which he relates to his explanation. Moreover, it is prudent to note that he grew up in an environment where drug abuse was on the rise and much of the drug abusers were black like him. There are some issues raised by him that have challenged my perception of drug and drug abuse and its subsequent addiction.
My elementary understanding of drug is that it is a chemical substance that changes the normal functioning of the body. On the other hand, drug abuse refers to the wrong usage of drugs. Per the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual Disorders, an addict can be termed as a person whose drug use has interfered with
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However, the author refutes this and says self-control and social contact greatly influence one’s decisions about drugs. Dr. Hart was born in a family where chaos was more of a norm. The father was a perpetual drunk, especially on Fridays or Saturdays. No hard drug such as cocaine was ever used by the dad but only alcohol. However, the resultant fights after consuming his alcohol were unending. In fact, the parents separated due to this fight and this forced Hart and his siblings to be brought up by the extended family (Carl, 2013, p. 52). In addition to the above wrangles in the family Hart’s childhood environment was involved in the use of crack cocaine, but due to his self-control, he could stand out and concentrate on his athletics, basketball, and studies. This challenged my initial position that when kids are brought up in an environment where drug use and chaos are a norm, they are likely to pick up such behaviors during their …show more content…
Having a rigid relationship with your kids hinders their independent judgment and growth and hence they are bound to make mistakes because of peer pressure or the environment (Carl, 2013, p. 102). Drug abuse among youths has been a problem, and the way to address the same has even been a bigger problem for the state. Understanding the youth and why they engage in drugs is critical and will enable one solve this menace. From the author’s experience, it is crystal clear that lack of social contact and alternative rewards are the main drive to youth engaging in drugs. Social contact and the parenting style are crucial. The constant social interaction of the youth with extended members of the family acts as an impediment to them engaging in the socially unacceptable behavior. This occurrence enabled Hart to stay away from drugs, thus concentrating on his studies (Carl, 2013, p.
Addiction may be defined as the chronic use of drugs alongside the problems resulting from their use. Despite the person being aware of the consequences of using the drug, he continues to use it. If not attended to, addiction may cause serious social problems and even death (Hanson et al. 36). In order to address drug addiction, it is vital to understand addiction itself and where it stems from.
Addiction is one of the hardest problems to overcome, yet people often find some reward in abusing drugs. We all ask the question to what makes a person an addict, or why is it so hard for drug addicts to kick a drug problem. However, can we say that getting a hold of drugs is much easier in today’s society, or is it made available to easy. In this day and age, heroine seems to be a major epidemic; furthermore, opiates have been around for centuries. Therefore, people have been battling addiction for as long as opiates have been around. In Drugstore Cowboy, the film takes a look in to the life of four people who rob drugstores in order to support their habit; however, this lifestyle
The novel “High Price” by Dr. Carl Hart, discusses Dr. Harts personal story growing up around poverty, drugs, and turning his life around to better himself. The text states “The U.S. Justice Department’s Bureau of Justice Statistics examined the connections between drugs and crime in prisoners, analyzing data from 1997 to 2004. It found that only a third of state prisoners committed their crimes under the influence of drugs and only around the same proportion were addicted” (110). Drugs have proven time and time again to influence prisoners to do wrong, especially when they’ve become addicted to the drugs they’ve allowed their body to consume.
Abuse is the improper use of something and addiction is a craving. A person can abuse alcohol or substances and a person can have an addiction to drugs. Addiction and abuse are thing that harm an adolescents body and damage the development of the brain. Many adolescents turn to drugs or substance abuse due to the lack of affection or something at the home from parents.
Drugs seem to be an issue everywhere. Just like alcohol, the drug trade is not a primary issue for one race. Drugs serve a heavy impact to all those involved. Drugs are not just reserved to those that use them, but also to the manufacturers and distributors of the drugs. An excerpt from Anderson (1990) involves a former dealer describing the drug culture. He states, “The way I see it, there’s top dogs, middle dogs, and low dogs. The top dogs are the guys with the money, dudes with the cars…the middle dogs are the ones who sell drugs for the top dogs…and they sell it to the low dogs” (p. 7). However, it does not stop there. Drugs also affect the family and friends of those involved. Many residing within areas centered on drugs often times express feelings of anxiety and fear. Wacquant (2007) states that petty theft, drug use, the resale of stolen goods, vandalism, and alcoholism are the most visible form of delinquency (p. 208).
In furthering a genetically predisposed and socially-influenced explanation, there is an abundance of considerations when explicating criminal behaviour; for example, a non aggressive, psychologically sound individual may be influenced by peer pressure into recreational drug usage, as “Psychoactive drug abuse commonly results from a combination of low self-esteem, peer pressure, inadequate coping skills, and curiosity.” (Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, 2005) therefore suggesting that light recreational drug abuse can accrue to a dependence due to a multitude of social influences, which invariably leads to further crime in order to financially support an addiction.
Today in America a lot of young people experiment with illegal drugs. Some people try drugs for recreational purposes, others are addicted to drugs and can't survive without them. Usually it all starts from recreational purposes, and people who can not control their recreation become a drug addicts. There are many different types of drugs, but all drugs are similar in that they change one's understanding of the environment, feelings, senses and mood. Some drugs cause physical addiction, which means that after several tries of the particular drug, the body requires that chemical in order to function. Some drugs destroy lives; people use drugs so much that it changes their personality and acceptance of environment, people become happy and sad, active and weak under influence of drugs. It makes their mind and body sick. Heavy drug users do not live long, dying either from health complications or dying on the streets, or if they get lucky they go to jail. In the following paragraphs I am going to talk about the most popular drugs from my point of view and my experience with some of them.
Dr. Carl Hart had a very rocky childhood and through his own determination to not repeat the past has gotten to where he is now in life. He comes from a broken family plagued by domestic violence, divorce, and a lack of support while he was growing up. Dr. Hart’s views on; social support, addiction and the physiological effects on the brain, factors to take into account when assessing drug abusers, drug policies influencing discrimination, and decriminalizing drug use are well articulated through his book High Life; in which enabled the audience to have raw reactions to his personal views.
Drugs cause an overall disturbance in a subjects’ physiological, psychological and emotional health. “At the individual level, drug abuse creates health hazards for the user, affecting the educational and general development of youths in particular” (“Fresh Challenge”). In youth specifically, drug abuse can be triggered by factors such as: a parent’s abusive behavior, poor social skills, family history of alcoholism or substance abuse, the divorce of parents or guardians, poverty, the death of a loved one, or even because they are being bullied at school (“Drugs, brains, and behavior”) .
Drug abuse and addiction are issues that affect people everywhere. However, these issues are usually treated as criminal activity rather than issues of public health. There is a conflict over whether addiction related to drug abuse is a disease or a choice. Addiction as a choice suggests that drug abusers are completely responsible for their actions, while addiction as a disease suggests that drug abusers need help in order to break their cycle of addiction. There is a lot of evidence that suggests that addiction is a disease, and should be treated rather than punished. Drug addiction is a disease because: some people are more likely to suffer from addiction due to their genes, drug abuse brought on by addictive behavior changes the brain and worsens the addiction, and the environment a person lives in can cause the person to relapse because addiction can so strongly affect a person.
Additionally, research consistently confirms the connection between youth substance use and familial substance use (Walden, Iacono & McGue, 2007). For example, substance use and abuse often intertwined in families. Furthermore, adolescents look to their parents as important role models for alcohol use and the use of illicit drugs other than marijuana (Allison, et al., 1999). Parents set an example for their impressionable adolescent (Murphey, et al., 2013). Youth who have a close non-authoritarian relationship with their parents are less ...
I once read in an article “Some teens use alcohol or drugs to dull the pain in their lives. When they are given a choice to take something to make them temporarily feel better, many cannot resist” (Look). The use of drugs will [affect] the everyday lives of many teenagers today. Throughout history more and more teenagers have turned to the use of drugs to help them through their everyday struggle.
...olescences to abuse drugs depending on the influencing stimuli. We must educate the adolescences on respectable behavior and consequences to drug seeking behaviors and addiction.
Before being capable of fighting the use of drugs and alchol, one must come to an understanding of why some people use drugs. The decision to ultimately use drugs is influenced mainly in childhood. Whether in a poor ?ghetto? neighborhood, or in a middle-class suburb, all children are vulnerable to the abuse of drugs. Most high-risk children are effected by personal and family circumstances (Falco 51). If a child?s parents are substance abusers, then it is a fairly safe prediction that the child will abuse drugs later in life. Also, early-life experiments with drugs greatly increases the chance of abuse later in life. Academic problems, and rebellious, anti-social behavior in elementary school are also linked to drug problems, in addition to truancy, delinquency, and ear...
After interviewing my teenage cousin whom has been in several altercations at home and school, enlightened me on the ways that teenagers in her age group gets involved in drug use. Kids start as young as ten years of age using, selling, and experimenting with drugs. My teenage cousin was expelled from public schools when she started experimenting with drugs. She was surrounded by many challenges when she enrolled in the alternative behavioral school. Many students, whom attend the alternative behavioral school use drugs, sell drugs, are on probation, have been arrested, engage in sexual activity and drink alcohol. Being surrounded by several of these activities that take place in the school, she has been approached by many, and has taken an interest in engaging in these bad activities. She lies to her parents about where she is going and where she has been. She has sold her electronics for drugs and alcohol, snuck out of her house to party with friends, and have runaway to stay with her friend to take part in sexual intercourse. Peer influences, as we have seen, a...