Many of today’s d rugs both the legal and illegal can be traced to have been used thousands of years ago. Drugs such as beer and wine date back at least 8000 years ago and archeological sites in Asia have been found to have traces of Ephedra vulgaris a plant associated with cannabis (Hamilton, King & Ritter, 2004). According to Ryder, Walker and Salmon (2006) drug use is a common and normal act in today’s society, and it would be diverting from the norm to find an individual not to have used drugs. There is no specific definition for the term drug, as this would only cause debate among people (Ryder et al., 2006). This academic writing will focus on psychoactive drugs, which act on the central nervous system altering states of consciousness by changing mood, perception and behaviour (Ryder et al., 2006; Hamilton et al., 2004; Burton, Westen, & Kowalski, 2009). A model is a practical way of explaining why occurrences happen the way they do, models can describe health issue as well as explain why and how the problem occurs (Ryder et al., 2006). Models can also predict what is likely to happen, but what is more important they can be used to plan out interventions to resolve a health issue (Ryder et al., 2006). This essay will describe the public health model and discuss why drugs do not have a fixed and predictable effect. Quite a number of models have been developed to understand drug use and its effect; the public health model integrates the perspectives of other models and focus on three main factors (Ryder et al., 2006; Hester & Miller, 2003; Clapp & Shillington, 2001). The first factor considered is the host, referred to as the individual drug user (Hester & Miller, 2003; Ryder et al., 2006). The second factor is the agent, ... ... middle of paper ... ...s of drug use (Ryder et al., 2006). The public health model emphasises on the importance of environmental factors capable to encourage or discourage the use of drugs (Hester & Miller, 2003). In conclusion, drugs have been used as far back as historians can recall drugs that alter the mood and personality of an individual are called psychoactive drugs. The public health model integrates several drugs use models in order to focus on three important factors. First is the agent factor which focuses on the pharmacological aspects of a drug. Second is the individual factors, which targets the physiological domains; age, weight and gender. Including psychological domains, which are beliefs and expectations? Finally the environmental factors that either encourage or discourage drug use. The three factors mentioned above all influence the unpredictable nature of drug use.
Credibility material: Its intake results in adverse medical conditions that are further exalted by its addiction properties that ensure a continued intake of the substance. The drug can be abused through multiple means and is medically recorded to produce short-term joy, energy , and other effects such as increased heart rate and blood pressure. This ultimately results in numerous psychiatric and social problems; factors that played a major role in its illegalization after multiple and widespread cases of its effects were reported in the country during the 1900s. In addition to this, the drug results in immediate euphoric effect, a property which the National Institute of Drug Abuse (2010) attributes to be the root cause for its increased po...
...y, H. (2008). Drug use and abuse: a comprehensive introduction (7th ed.). Belmont, CA: Thomson/Wadsworth.
Brecher, Edward M. (1972) Licit and Illicit Drugs; The Consumers Union Report on narcotics, stimulants, depressants, inhalants, Hallucinogens, and marijuana- including caffeine, nicotine, and alcohol. New York, 291-390
Drug use and abuse is as old as mankind itself. Human beings have always had a desire to eat or drink substances that make them feel relaxed, stimulated, or euphoric. Wine was used at least from the time of the early Egyptians; narcotics from 4000 B.C.; and medicinal use of marijuana has been dated to 2737 B.C. in China. But it was not until the nineteenth century that the active substances in drugs were extracted. There was a time in history when some of these newly discovered substances, such as morphine, laudanum, cocaine, were completely unregulated and prescribed freely by physicians for a wide variety of ailments.
Drug abuse has changed over the years due to the trends that Americans face from the encouragement of different cultures. The abuse of substances creates many health problems. The following will discuss the past and current trends of drug use and the effects these drugs have on the health of the individuals who abuse the drugs.
Many factors contribute to the reasons why drug use still exists in America today. It provides needed job titles, it is an on going process for medical research, and acts as a contribution to help certain people in their own personal ways. Drugs have been around for nearly two decades and as the years progress, the war on drugs seems as if it has no intensions of slowing down. This problem will only continue to intensify in an inferior situation. In using both the functionalist and interactionist perspectives, several imperfections such as addiction and the fact that people use drugs in illegal ways are identified. Ultimately, it is only us as a society as a whole who can take the responsibility and can change this issue … for better or for worse.
...drugs (Degracia, 1993). One would think that the side-effects, such as dehydration and extreme panic, would entice people to find alternative activities, but it seems that the effects, like enhanced sensations and sensory mixing, outweigh the side-effects. If this is true, one must wonder what the how the atmosphere of the will change in World in a few years, and how much of an influence will drugs have several decades from now.
So with all of this in mind “Do illegal drugs influence an individual to commit heinous crimes, such as murder?” It is interesting to see what the literature says on this topic and how there are actu...
Drug in the American Society is a book written by Eric Goode. This book, as the title indicates, is about drugs in the American Society. It is especially about the misuse of most drugs, licit or illicit, such us alcohol, marijuana and more. The author wrote this book to give an explanation of the use of different drugs. He wrote a first edition and decided to write this second edition due to critic and also as he mentioned in the preface “there are several reason for these changes. First, the reality of the drug scene has changed substantially in the past dozen or so years. Second much more information has been accumulated about drug use. And third, I’m not the same person I was in 1972.”(vii). The main idea of this book is to inform readers about drugs and their reality. In the book, Goode argued that the effect of a drug is dependent on the societal context in which it is taken. Thus, in one society a particular drug may be a depressant, and in another it may be a stimulant.
Drug use and abuse is as old as mankind itself. Human beings have always had a desire to eat or drink substances that make them feel relaxed, stimulated, or euphoric. Humans have used drugs of one sort or another for thousands of years. Wine was used at least from the time of the early Egyptians; narcotics from 4000 B.C.; and medicinal use of marijuana has been dated to 2737 BC in China.
Drug abuse has been a hot topic for our society due to how stimulants interfere with health, prosperity, and the lives of others in all nations. All drugs have the potential to be misapplied, whether obtained by prescription, over the counter, or illegally. Drug abuse is a despicable disease that affects many helpless people. Majority of those who are beset with this disease go untreated due to health insurance companies who neglect and discriminate this issue. As an outcome of missed opportunities of treatments, abusers become homeless, very ill, or even worst, death.
There are many assumptions of why an individual may use different substances and perhaps go from a “social” user to becoming addicted. Understanding the different theories models of addiction many help in the process of treatment for the addict. Although people in general vary in their own ideologies of addiction when working as a clinician one must set aside their own person beliefs. Typically as a clinician it is best for the client to define how they view their addiction and their view may encompass more than one of the five theories. Some theories suggest genetic and other biological factors whiles others emphasize personality or social factors. In this study three theories are defined and given to three different people with different cultural backgrounds, different ideologies, different experiences, and most importantly different reference point of addiction.
For nearly 85 years, the government has prohibited pscychoactive drugs. American leaders attempted to do the same to alcohol with Prohibition in the 1920?s. In any society, drug use plays a part in the people?s culture. Whether it be a native taking hallucinogens for a religious ceremony, a destitute alcoholic drinking on a city street, or a group of teenagers smoking marijuana, drugs and alcohol have the same effects in any culture. The question of ?why do people use drugs? has been a dilemma which American medical experts and government leaders have fought to answer for years. Recently, many institutions and organizations have formed in order to fight the war on drugs and help diminish the percent of Americans who use dangerous drugs and excessive amounts of alcohol.
The use of drugs is a controversial topic in society today. In general, addicts show a direct link between taking drugs and suffering from their effects. People abuse drugs for a wide variety of reasons. In most cases, the use of drugs will serve a type of purpose or will give some kind of reward. These reasons for use will differ with different kinds of drugs. Various reasons for using the substance can be pain relief, depression, anxiety and weariness, acceptance into a peer group, religion, and much more. Although reasons for using may vary for each individual, it is known by all that consequences of the abuse do exist. It is only further down the line when the effects of using can be seen.
Drugs are chemicals that change the way a person's body or mind works. Drugs are not good for health as they have many side effects and damage our brain, heart and other important organs. Drug is a depressant that slows down the functions of the central nervous system and makes us less aware of the events around us. I...