Drug Abuse in America

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Recommended: Effects of drug abuse on the society

Use of drugs by early adolescents is increasing by the minute. Approximately 12.8 million Americans twelve and older use illegal drugs daily. Adolescents seem to abuse drugs more than any other age group. Ninety percent of Americans who have used illegal drugs have used marijuana or hashish. Society says drugs are evil and that they can turn a person into a rapist or murderer. America happens to be the most drug-aware and drug-experienced society in the world (Bancroft 2). Yet the United States of America has the highest drug abuse rate of any country in the world. Most Americans believe that drug abuse is a social problem. 45% of Americans know someone that is a drug addict. Drug use threatens every socio-economic background, geographical area, and race. Drug abuse has become a social problem because it has started to cause criminal activity and violence. Specifically, it leads to gender violence, employment and education delays and problems, and creates drug cartels.
Drug abuse can cause gender violence, depending on the drug. 48% of gender based violence is caused by drug consumption (Fernandez-Montalvo 2012:143). Drug addicts believe they are in control of everyone they have a relationship with, due to masculine exterior. Psychologists did a research over drug abusers and how that affects their personality. The study consisted of 314 patients (203 men and 49 women) from different socio-economic levels. After the study was done, every patient reported that they could not control violent behavior in different settings. 33% of patients admitted to becoming more aggressive and violent toward others while on drugs, and eighty percent of them were men. For most cases, “violence emerged in crime settings to obtain money for buying d...

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...it can make a huge difference.

Works Cited

Bennett, James. 1970. Drug Abuse And What We Can Do About It. Riverside County, CA.

Allen, Chris.2007. Crime, Drugs, and Social Theory. Great Britain: MPG Books Ltd.

Bancroft, Angus.2009. Drugs, intoxication, & Society. Malden, MA: MPG Books Ltd.
Fernandez-Montalvo, Javier, Jose Lopez-Goni, and Alfonso Arteaga. 2012. “Violent Behaviors in Drug Addiction: Differential Profiles of Drug-Addicted Patients with and Without Violence Problems.”: 143-157
Brook, Judith S, David W. Brook, Zohn Rosen, and Caitlin R. Rabbitt. 2003. “Earlier Marijuana Use and Later Problem Behavior in Colombian Youths.” Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. Volume 42 (Issue 4):1-14.
Sheff, David. 1996. America’s Drug Abuse Profile. Middletown, IL. Retrieved December 12, 2013 (https://www.ncjrs.gov/htm/chapter2.htm).

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