Impacts of the Social Construction of Drug Use and Deviance on Drug Users
Assessment task:
You are asked to respond to the following. Please respond within a word limit of 1,800 – 2,200 words. Use academic references throughout.
Critically analyse the impact, if any, of the Social Construction of drug using and deviance on persons who use drugs.
Journals wiley,
European addiction rersource _Karger
Suggested reading list
Chesterton, G. K., “Wine when is red” from All Things Considered, Biblio Bazaar, 2007.
Chevannes, B. “Ganja and the road to decriminalization in Jamaica” in Coomber, R. and South, N., Drug Use and Cultural Contexts: ‘Beyond the West”, Free Association Books, 2004, pp. 177-191.
Coomber, R. and South, N., Drug Use and Cultural Contexts: ‘Beyond the West”, Free Association Books, 2004.
Corney R. and Davis J., “The attractions and risks of Internet gambling for women: A qualitative study”, in Journal of Gambling Issues, 24, pp. 121-139.
Courtwright, D. T, Forces of Habit: drugs and the making of the modern world, Harvard University Press, 2001. Chapters 1 (9-26), 2 (27 -52), 11 (87-207).
Courtwright, D. T, “The Rise and Fall and Rise of Cocaine in the United States” in Goodman, J. et al, Consuming habits: global and historical perspectives on how cultures define drugs, Routledge, 2007, pp. 206-228.
Flisher, C., “Getting plugged in: An overview of Internet addiction”, in Journal of Pediatrics and Child Health, 46 (2010), pp. 557-559.
Goodman, J. et al, Consuming habits: global and historical perspectives on how cultures define drugs, Routledge, 2007. Chapters 1 (11-24) and 11 (206-228).
Heath, Dwight B., “Anthropology and Alchool Studies: Current Issues” in Annual Review of Anthropology, vol. 16 (1987), pp. 99-120.
Jay, M., Emperors of Dreams: Drugs in the Nineteenth Century, Dedalus, 2011.
Chapters 2 (51-86), 5 (147-183) Responsible Gambling Advocacy Centre, Women and Gambling: Issues of difference, Melbourne, November 2011.
Rudgley, R., Alchemy of Culture: Intoxication in Society, British Museum Press, 1998.
Sherratt, A., “Alchol and its alternatives: Symbol and substance in pre-industrial cultures”, in Goodman, J. et al, Consuming habits: global and historical perspectives on how cultures define drugs, Routledge, 2007. pp. 11-24.
Starcevic V. and Billieux J., Does the construction of internet addiction reflect a single entity or a spectrum of disorders?, in Clinical Neuropsychiatry, 14, pp. 5-10.
Impacts of the Social Construction of Drug Use and Deviance on Drug Users
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Impacts of the Social Construction of Drug Use and Deviance on Drug Users
Social construction is an ideology that has been created and accepted by people in society. These ideas include race, gender, age, madness, childhood beauty, and intelligence. Deviance behaviors are actions or behaviors against formal or informal cultural norms. Thus, this paper will analyze the effect of the social construct of drug use and deviance on drug users. This includes addiction and dependency, deviance, and diseases.
Drug addiction has implications on a societal scale, with varied responses from community members. The research explores the framing of drug addiction and the manifestations of representations depicted with deviant behaviors. The analysis includes the particularization of problem subsets, including characteristics such as medicalized behaviors. Exploring the social constructs linked to addiction can improve understanding of the vulnerable population's social dynamics. The social constructs associated with psychoactive substances impact perceptions of their value and users. Religious, cultural, economic, and social attributes impact substance consumption. Therefore, the research can identify correlations between fundamental shifts and labels assigned to drug users by exploring psychoactive substances' histories and current applications. Moreover, feedback from people at risk of addiction provides insight into ritualization impacts that structure acceptable behaviors. The findings are relevant to health professionals, policymakers, and the public to address misconceptions of perceived risks or benefits. Therefore, psychoactive substances that are not ritualized or deemed to possess medicinal properties are often condemned by societies, influencing negative attitudes toward drug users.
Consequently, drug users are likely to face isolation and rejection. The perspective entails consuming prohibited content associated with deviant practices, indicating an individual's divergence from acceptable social norms. Biological conceptions linking drug abuse and strange behaviors entail psychoanalysis showing cognitive compromise that may lead to unacceptable behaviors. Therefore, under the natural view of the social construct, diverging from socially acceptable behaviors indicates dysfunction in psychic components. People who consume illegal substances suffer; hence their actions are perceived as abnormal based on the cause and effect consideration.
Addiction is linked with problematic behavior; however, associating drug consumption with social characteristics may lead to diverse subjective interpretations. Consequently, the phenomenon is subjected to processes through which communities define its impact (Rudgley, 1998). In most cases, social problems are public concerns, and the media has a role in reinforcing the perception of bad traits. The construction of addiction as a problematic issue in the public sphere impact treatment approaches.
Comorbidity of high stress, deviant networks, and low social capital.
Drug use is considered a sign of social deviance. Further, social norms vary from one community to another and extreme social behaviors such as drug use have a negative impact globally. Globally, many communities are against the use of drugs, and; thus, drug users tend to have coercion to go against societal norms. According to research, the main reason why people abuse drugs is stress related to other comorbidities such as deviant networks, low social capital, poverty, and deviant network (Mehrabi et al., 2016). Stress is experienced through the feeling of hopelessness, anxiety, worthlessness, loneliness, and fearfulness caused by different aspects of social construct.
Social capitals are the characteristics of social associations that enhance individuals to cooperate socially and partner on social norms. These associations include communication, social norms, civic participation, social support, trust in others, and social cohesion. Social capital is a significant aspect of every community to its sustainable development. Social capital helps individuals to cooperate, provides moral support, and encourages individuals to work hard and value one another. Thus, strong social capital reduces the chances of life stressors and risks of stress in society ( Najmeh,2019). Low social capital caused by eventualities such as the loss of a close friend or relative, divorce, family dispute, or being away from family increases stress. As a way to cope with low stress, individuals turn to drug use to cover the gap.
Additionally, a social network of individuals influences their perspective on life and societal norms. The social network of an individual allows them to learn behaviors acceptable in society, attitudes towards particular norms, and how they relate with one another. The availability of deviant social networks in an individual life creates peer stresses which force individuals to engage in their behavior whether good or bad to fit in. Deviant social network activities such as drug use in a peer group, imprisonment history, drug use in a family, or joining a gang may trigger an individual to think that using drugs is normal and acceptable in their community.
Further, Strong social resources such as employment, education, good health, medical cover, and a decent environment, seek to strengthen, empower and motivate individuals in a community. However, weak social sources trigger fear and stress which pushes individuals to drug use. Weak social sources such as joblessness, economic hardship, risky environment, unavailability of welfare facilities, severe living conditions, and easy accessibility of drugs trigger fear and insecurities which increases the chances of drug use.
The use of Marijuana
Challenging social constructs can bring attention to misconceptions of their value. Analyzing marijuana consumption in Jamaica highlights conflicting views regarding its benefits and risks. The Rastafari associate the substance with holistic properties; hence, it is viewed as a critical component of mental and physical well-being. In addition, the herb is a vital component of everyday culture with varied applications in civic, cultural, and intimate events. Nevertheless, states banned the cultivation of marijuana as early as 1913, indicating conflicting constructs regarding its relevance in the nation (Bandopadhyay & Nesson, 2015). Efforts to decriminalize the herb are centered on the arguments supporting medicinal uses.
Considering the herb's social history and current usage signifies an essential intersection of its perception and social norms. In 2014, Jamaica participated in discussions for decriminalization to reconcile public and private strategies. The participants aimed to discount the herb's representation through a Socratic questioning methodology (Bandopadhyay & Nesson, 2015). Inquiries facilitated discussions on the value of decriminalizing the h...