Substance Abuse And Society Essay

639 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: How culture affects beliefs and attitudes

In the map I detailed several connections that were tied to the social issue of drug and alcohol abuse. These connections helped me to clarify the issue to better understand it and its impact on society. The first connection was cultural beliefs and biases; which based off old stereotypes it is thought that people who become addicted to drugs or alcohol are weak, immoral or tragically flawed. And many people believe that substance abuse only affects the user and doesn’t have a larger impact on society. Now the relationship between these beliefs and the social issue is a negative one as they are negative assumptions about lifestyles that include drugs and alcohol. When in reality substance abusers are just like everyone else. They are parents, children, friends, workmates, sisters and brothers. They hold down jobs, have friends, go to social functions and enjoy their weekends. Some fail to manage their addiction and do become entrenched in a lifestyle that the stereotypes embody, but many do not. An addiction does not discriminate between rich and poor, young or old. …show more content…

And notably there wasn’t a role in society they didn’t take part in; for instance, substance abusers are mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters, aunts, grandmothers, coworkers, friends, bosses, mayors, criminals…...etc. Addiction doesn’t differentiate. Race, sex, intelligence: no trait or set of characteristics exempts one from the possibility of addiction. (MFIRecovery.com, 2014) So by knowing this it showed me that it doesn’t matter where you have been or what you may have nobody is out of the reach of addiction. Which this relationship is strained due to stereotypes that depict substance abuser as criminals and not your everyday individuals. This removes the empathy that people need to relate to the social issue of substance abuse, therefore making it difficult for them to realize its

Show More
Related

  • Binge Drinking, Health and Osteopathy in Australia

    1806 Words  | 4 Pages

    Wilton, R., & Moreno, C. M. (2012). Critical geographies of drugs and alcohol. Social & Cultural Geography, 13(2), 99–108. doi:10.1080/14649365.2012.670505

    Read More

  • Substance Abuse Counselor Essay

    649 Words  | 2 Pages

    A substance abuse counselor is a person who helps people that are struggling with alcoholism and/or drug addiction. Substance abuse counselors provide patients with treatment and support while they are working to overcome their addiction and piece their lives back together. In addition, substance abuse counselors help patients’ families cope with their loved one’s disease and subsequent recovery. Finally, substance abuse counselors may work to spread awareness of addiction throughout the community by starting up/working for outreach programs.

    Read More

  • Ageism and Risk-Taking Behavior in Juvenile Justice

    570 Words  | 2 Pages

    This socially rampant drug use is also the culture he grew up in. Johnny’s family has a history of substance use, as does the section of town he resides in. Substance abuse may have been normalized at an early age. “It was found that most of the users had initiated substance abuse…with peer influence…and socialization were the main reasons for maintenance. Non-users never gave into substances because of personal values, awareness of the impact of health an family values” (Gopiram and Kishore, 2014, p 59). This was addressed by education regarding the biological and emotional effects of substance use as well as a discussion of the type of life he would like to lead. This discussion correlated with building social skills for positive social

    Read More

  • Substance Abuse: Compaing the Medical/Disease Model and the Social Model

    1790 Words  | 4 Pages

    Many people dislike the term ‘addiction’ in relation to drugs or other substances, particularly as it infers that a person is powerless over their use of a particular drug or in some circumstances, a number of substances. Whilst others maintain it is this powerlessness that is the foundation of diagnosis and treatment – that treatment is not possible without recognition of addiction itself as the ‘problem’ being addressed. The professional and public perception of addiction is complicated. There are many approaches and models to explain addiction, the role of the addict, and their environment. This essay will compare and contrast two of these approaches, the medical/disease and the social model. Initially this essay will describe the origins of each model, and follow by explaining their respective strengths and weaknesses, and finish with an overview of the key differences between them. This essay will conclude by demonstrating that a holistic approach, and a cross-pollination of these models is the most successful approach to treating addicts. As is the case for all diseases, there are multiple treatment options, and as ever person is different, the results in each individual cannot be predicted.

    Read More

  • The Stigma Of Substance Addiction

    1623 Words  | 4 Pages

    From the inception of the Harrison Narcotics Act of 1914, the social concept of drug addicts or those recovering from abuse as “criminal deviants” is still stigmatized today even though we have gained ground and won the war on dru...

    Read More

  • The Dangers of Alcohol and Alcoholism

    3315 Words  | 7 Pages

    “For every family that is impacted by drugs, there are another 10 to 15 families impacted by alcohol abuse. It's a pretty big deal. We have a tendency to only look at part of the puzzle.” (Kevin Lewis). As a society we tend to categorize the severity of addiction in a way that drugs are the most dangerous and alcohol being just a problem. Because alcohol addiction can be a slow progressive disease many people don’t see it in the same light as drug addiction. An addiction to drugs is seen as being a more deadly and dangerous issue then that of alcohol because a drug addiction can happen more quickly and can kill more quickly. Alcohol is something that is easy to obtain, something that is found at almost every restaurant. People with an alcohol addiction can not hide from alcohol as easy as a drug addict. Approximately 7 million Americans suffer from alcohol abuse and another 7 million suffer from alcoholism. (Haisong 6) The dangers of alcohol affect everyone from children with alcoholic parents, to teenagers who abuse alcohol, then to citizens who are terrorized by drunk drivers.

    Read More

  • Drug Policy Synthesis Essay

    1759 Words  | 4 Pages

    A Gallup poll found that 1 in 3 Americans are have been affected by alcoholism in their family (Jones). However, these family members are not treated with scorn and contempt like drug addicts, but instead are met with compassion and sympathy. The difference between the two is the stigma attached to drug users as “junkies” and “criminals”. For any substantive change to take place in our society, there must be a fundamental change in the way Americans view drug users and drug addicts. The objective of drug policy should be to put these drug users in a position where they can help uplift their community, rather than seeking to uplift these communities through removal of drug users. The manner in which we attempt to uplift drug users can take form in a multitude of policy approaches. This change is likely to be a slow, gradual one that requires undoing much of what people believe of drug dealers. However, we should celebrate and recognize where promoters of these approaches succeed. Cities like New Haven and Shreveport should be looked at as standards for the rest of the country to follow in effective harm reducing strategies that humanize drug addicts, and still tamp down on crime. With continued success in cities like these, there is a hope that the war on drugs will soon come to an

    Read More

  • Drug Addiction as a Disease

    899 Words  | 2 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Society Treat Substance Abuse

    355 Words  | 1 Pages

    In “Why Shouldn’t Society Treat Substance Abusers?” Alan I. Leshner argues that drug addiction needs to reduce in America. This means that the drug treatments for who needs it must be available in our culture’s policies. The fact of the matter looks as if America has offered help to those who need it, but the programs, which have become too expensive, do not allow for people of the working class to afford it. On average, these addicts, who seek help to get clean spend up to “$110 billion a year” (Leshner). So economically, they would become more affected while getting help, rather than if they would not have received help.

    Read More

  • Drug Addiction

    1043 Words  | 3 Pages

    When first asked to write down what they think of when they heard the words drug addiction, most participants made associations related to mental health; depression, loneliness, mental illness and traumatic or abusive past experiences were mentioned frequently. There were also numerous mentions of powerlessness and vulnerability.

    Read More

  • Culture And Cultural Addiction

    760 Words  | 2 Pages

    The rethinking of contemporary adulthood leading to social change among people who are influenced by their addictions would be a foundation for the framework of my research. Given this framework I will to gain strategies to assist me when making critical inquiries regarding an adult’s cultural experience as it relates to addiction. Essentially, people are a culmination of their cultural experiences in society. As a result they can be influenced both positively and negatively. By taking the approach that addiction can be caused by a cultural and environmental effect, it could be examined for the narrative self which was shaped by society (Van Wormer & Davis, 208). (do you mean 2008? Or pg

    Read More

  • Substance Abuse Social Problem Essay

    1792 Words  | 4 Pages

    Perhaps most substance abuse starts in the teen years when young people are susceptible to pressure from their peers. One of the main concerns when dealing with substance abuse is the long term problems with substance such as addiction, dependency and tolerance. The physical state of an individual, who is addicted to a substance, will deteriorate over a long period of time. This is due to the chemicals that are being put into an individual body. One of the most important aspects of the effect of substance abuse on society includes ill health, disease, sickness, and in many cases death. The impact of substance abuse not only affects individuals who abuse substances but it affects our economy. Our government resources are negatively impacted by individual who abuse substances. According to (Lagliaro 2004) the implication of drug users extend far beyond the user, often damaging their relationships with their family, community, and health workers, volunteer and wider

    Read More

  • Essay About Alcohol Abuse

    782 Words  | 2 Pages

    The problem of alcohol use is very relevant nowadays. Today alcohol consumption characterized by vast numbers in the world. All of society is suffering from this, but primarily jeopardized the younger generation: children, teenagers, young people, and the health of future mothers. Because alcohol is particularly active effect on the body that are not formed, gradually destroying it. The harm of alcohol abuse is evident. It is proved that when alcohol is ingested inside the body, it is carried by blood to all organs and has harmful effect on them until destruction. Systematic use of alcohol develops a dangerous disease such as alcoholism. Alcoholism is dangerous to human health, but it is curable as other diseases. The big problem is that most of the alcohol products which are made in private places contain many toxic substances, defective products often leads to poisoning and even death. All this has negative impact on society and its cultural values.

    Read More

  • Alcohol and Drug Abuse

    1345 Words  | 3 Pages

    Alcohol and drug abuse is one of biggest problems in United States today. It is not only a personal problem that dramatically affects individuals' lives, but is a major social problem that affects society as whole. "Drug and alcohol abuse", these phrases we hear daily on the radio, television or in discussions of social problem. But what do they mean or what do we think and understand by it? Most of us don't really view drug or alcohol use as a problem, if that includes your grandmother taking two aspirins when she has a headache or your friends having few beers or drinks on Saturday night. What we really mean is that some drugs or alcohol are being used by some people or in some situations constitute problem with which our society must deal. It becomes a real problem when using or I should say abusing drugs cause accidents, antisocial behavior, broken relationships, family instability, crime and violence, poverty, unsafe streets and highways, worker absenteeism and nonproductivity, and the most tragic one death. The situation in which the drug or alcohol uses accurse often makes all the difference. The clearest example is the drinking of alcohol, when individual begins to drink during the job, at school, or in the morning, we have evidence that indicates a potential drinking problem. If a person takes narcotic drug because he just wrecked his knee while his physician prescribed playing football and the drug, most of us would be not concerned. If, on the other hand, he took the same drug on his own just because he likes the way it makes him feel, then we should begin to worry about him developing dependence. Even use of illegal drugs are sometimes acceptable, but it also depends on situation, for example in some countries smoking marijuana is legal just like drinking alcohol in United States. Some subcultures even in United States that accept the use of illegal drugs may distinguish between acceptable and unacceptable situation, some college age groups might accept marijuana smoking at a party on weekends, but not just before going to a calculus class. Most of people would accept a fact that a bartender or a waiter who is working at a night club is having a beer or a drink on his break or that a landscape worker is having a cold beer with his lunch on a hot summer day. I'm not saying that it is "OK" but we wouldn't complain a...

    Read More

  • An Essay About Drug Addiction

    1114 Words  | 3 Pages

    Drug addiction is a very big problem in today’s society. Many people have had their lives ruined due to drug addiction. The people that use the drugs don’t even realize that they have an addiction. They continue to use the drug not even realizing that their whole world is crashing down around them. Drug addicts normally lose their family and friends due to drug addiction.

    Read More

More about Substance Abuse And Society Essay

Open Document