alcohol and other drugs chapter 4. drugs a drug is any chemical substance other than food or water...
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ALCOHOL AND OTHER DRUGS
Chapter 4
Drugs
A drug is any chemical substance other than food or water that affects the mind or body. a substance that people take to produce a change in their
thinking, consciousness, emotions, bodily functions or behavior.
Drug Abuse—using drugs in such a way that they harm one’s health, impair one’s physical or mental functioning, or interfere with one’s social life.
No drug is good or bad in and of itself.No drug is good or bad in and of itself.
Drugs and Culture
Drugs can be defined as good or as harmful.
Definitions of drugs vary from society to society
Alcohol part of western culture Peyote use as a religious ritual among Native Americans Coca and South America
Definitions vary over time It is not the objective conditions of drugs—such as
whether or not they are harmful—that makes their use a social problem.
Rather, it is the surrounding subjective concerns that establish them as problems.
Subjective concerns are not fixed, but change over time.
The Scope of the ProblemA drugdrug is a substance that people take to
produce a change in their thinking, consciousness, emotions, or bodily functions or behavior.
People take many substances to cause such changes.
Essential difference among these substances is not which ones they use, but whether a substance is socially acceptable or disapproved of.
Far from being an antidrug society, we are actually a pro-drug society.
Drugs and Social Diversity
Definitions of drugs have varied over time in the United States
Attitudes toward cocaine Cocaine early on was seen as a medical panacea Racism and cocaine usage
Founding Fathers and hempImmigrants and drug use
Drug Abuse as a Personal or Social Problem
When drug use interferes with someone’s health or how that person gets along in life, we consider this a personal problem.personal problem.
If large numbers of people become upset about a drug, and want something done, then that drug becomes part of a social problem.social problem.
Nicotine and Alcohol as social problems. Smoking is the single most preventable cause of
premature death in the U.S. Alcohol is more dangerous than its broad social
acceptability would imply.
Changing views of AlcoholChanging views of Alcohol
Changing Views of Alcohol
Alcohol is one of the most widely used drugs
Alcohol was important in colonial America Alcohol became associated with undesirable
immigrants
The Temperance MovementThe 18th Amendment and ProhibitionProhibition
Organized crime
In 1933 Prohibition ended with the passage of the Nineteenth Amendment
The Extent of Drug Use
Most everyone uses some type of drug legal or illegal
In 2007 government survey 80% of the population over the age of twelve
used some illicit drug Declined after 1980 and rose slightly after 2000
Why do People Use Drugs?
5 reasons behind use:1. Therapeutic use2. Recreational use3. Escapism4. Spiritual or psychological use5. Social Conformity
Use and Abuse
The distinction between using a drug from abusing a drug Use that goes against accepted medical
practices Effect of the drug
• Mental harm• Physical harm• Social harm
Addiction and Dependency
Addiction – a physical or psychological craving for a drug
Withdrawal symptoms Complex
Dependency – a state in which a person’s body has adjusted to regular use of a drug
Need for the drug to feel normal
Types of Drugs
Stimulants – drugs that elevate alertness, changing a person’s mood by increasing energy
CaffeineNicotineRitalinCocaine and CrackAmphetamines
NicotineNicotine is the second most popular
recreational drug in the United States.The tobacco industry strives to recruit
new smokers each year. Spends $13 billion a year promoting
cigarettes and chewing tobaccoTeens think smoking is more common
and acceptable than it actually is.A new study confirms that fewer
American kids are smoking.
National MapCigarette Smoking across the United States
College Students Binge drinking—refers to
the heavy consumption of alcohol over a short period of time
Binge drinkers in high school are three times more likely to binge in college.
Alcohol poisoning is the most life-threatening consequence of binge drinking.
CocaineCocaine has not always been viewed
the way it is now. Late 1800s, physicians praised cocaine for
medicinal purposes By 1910, transformed from medicine into a
dangerous drugHarrison Act paved the way for
cocaine to be sold on the black market.Has a distinctive medical useThe most common use of cocaine,
however, is to obtain a high.
Dysfunctions of cocaine “High” is intense and users give up many of
the things they value Creates health dysfunctions “Crack Babies”: fetuses born addicted to
cocaine because of mother’s drug addictionCrack Cocaine
Violence surrounds crack Social history includes racial injustice Now, sentences imposed for the use of crack
can be no heavier than those imposed for the use of powder cocaine.
The Amphetamines
Amphetamines Became popular in the 1920s Heavy amphetamine use sometimes accompanied
by behavioral fixations “Meth” addiction growing epidemic across the
country White House Office of National Drug Control
Policy runs television advertisements to discourage meth use, and a provision of the Patriot Act forces states to now restrict purchases of pseudoephedrine.
Types of Drugs
Depressants – drugs that slow the operation of the central nervous systemAnalgesics
• Over the counter pain relieversSedatives and hypnotics, and alcoholAntipsychotics
• Lithium and Haldol
AlcoholAlcoholics—people who have severe alcohol-
related problems10 million Americans are considered alcoholics.Each year 700,000 Americans are treated in
substance abuse centers.Billions of dollars per year in reduced
productivity and alcohol-related accidents
Types of Drugs
Hallucinogens - stimulants that cause some hallucinations
LSD• Most famous of the hallucinogens• Reached height of media attention in mid-1960s with hippie
culture Peyote
• Widely practiced among Native Americans• Can be used legally—but only by members of the Native
American Church for religious purposes Psilocybin (PCP)
• Phencyclidine Hydrochloride also called Angel Dust• Affects the central nervous system, making it difficult to speak
Ecstasy• Popular party drug• Side effects for some are mental confusion and anxiety
Types of Drugs
Cannabis Marijuana Hashish
Third most popular recreational drug in the United States
Health consequences of marijuana use Studies have not confirmed findings
Smoking marijuana impairs motor coordination and reduces awareness of external stimuli
Associated with Amotivational Syndrome Lethargy, loss of concentration, and drifting from long-
range goals
Use of Selected Drugs by the U.S. Population, 1979–2007
Drugs and Other Social ProblemsProblems of Family Life
Drug use and child neglect•Effect inhibitions•Effect judgment
Impacts family relationships and roles•Codependency among family members
Financial problemsEducational (school) problemsLegal problems
Drugs and Other Social Problems
Homelessness60% of homeless men and women have
a drinking problemDrugs and homelessness
Drugs cause homelessnessHomelessness leads to drug use
Drugs and Other Social ProblemsHealth ProblemsMany people die from the use of illegal and legal
drugsEffects physical and psychological well beingPrenatal exposure
Premature delivery Low birth weight Birth defects
Sharing needles and HIVU.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention
Needle exchange program and the reduction in the spread of HIV
Educational information on the sterilization of needles
Drugs and Other Social Problems
CrimeDrug use and crime
3/4 of federal prison inmates have a history of substance abuse
Drug enforcement policies cause crime
Drug related violence in Mexico
Drugs and Other Social Problems
Global PovertyIllegal drugs in the U.S. are a part of the
global economyPoverty in poor nations and the production
of drugs Opiates in Afghanistan & Asia Hashish from Middle East and West Africa Marijuana from Mexico, Cuba, and Central
America Cocaine from South America
Source of income and capital for poor nations
Demand for drugs from rich nations
Social Policy: Responding to the Drug Problem
Strategies to Control DrugsInterdiction – stopping drugs from entering
our country DEA U.S Customs Service Border Patrol U.S. military
Education Dare (Drug Abuse Resistance Education)
Treatment In and out patient treatment Counseling and group support such as AA
Federal Minimum Sentencing Guidelines
The War on Drugs
The Nixon Era: Drugs as “ Public Enemy Number One”
Created the DEA – Overseas our government antidrug operations
Nixon administration and treatment programs
Main thrust was enforcement over treatment
The War on Drugs
The Reagan EraDefining the drug problem as moral
challenge“Just say No”Increased the federal budget to fight the
drug problem Mandatory jail timeSeizure of property
The War on Drugs
The Bush Years (1989-1992): The War Goes On
Office of National Drug Control Policy Tough laws
The War on Drugs
The Clinton Era: More of the SameTreatment over incarcerationLater years tougher enforcement
War on Drugs
George W Bush Terrorism took public attention away from drugs Looked at prosecution as primary strategy
War on Drugs
Obama Aims to eliminate racial disparity in sentencing Aims to reduce both supply and demand
Social Policy: Responding to the Drug Problem
Counterpoint: DecriminalizationRemoving the current criminal penalties
that punish drug usersZurich, Switzerland: Legalization that
FailedNetherlands: Legalization that Works
Structural-Functional Analysis: Regulating Drug Use
The functions of a drug for the operation of society
Social and cultural functionsEconomic functions
Drugs as dysfunctional for the operation of society
The more disruptive a drug’s effects, the stronger measures society takes
Symbolic-Interaction Analysis: The Meaning of Drug Use
The social meanings and definitions that people attach to a drug, its use and users
Sacred Religious rituals Harmful
How individuals make sense out of drugs
Social-Conflict Analysis: Power and Drug Use
Focus is on how power and wealth shapes social life and society
Power and drug lawsPower and the regulation and enforcement
of lawsPower and punishment
Conservatives: Just Say No
Moral values in the analysis of the drug problem
Lack of family and religion at the heart of the problem
Drug use as a function of self-centered pleasure seeking
Drugs cause crime and the erosion of morality
Get tough on drug dealers and users
Liberals: Reform Society
Personal choice and freedom Treatment and education approachTolerant view of “soft drugs”Legalization of marijuanaSupport law enforcement for “hard drugs”
Radical Views: Right-Wing Libertarians and the Far Left
Libertarians – people who favor the greatest individual freedom possible
Oppose government efforts to regulate drugs Favor individual choice and freedomDrug use should be left up to the individualRadical left drug laws reflect the interest of
the dominant group