The+addiction

Dominique Scott N8910260 Tutor: Abbey Diaz

="THINKIN' I WOULD NEVER DO THAT, NOT THAT DRUG= =AND GROWING UP NOBODY EVER DOES"= = = media type="custom" key="24169498"

The ‘Otherside’ is a song by Macklemore, which is about the otherside of drugs, what it can do to you and the people around you. Macklemore is using his status as a well- known singer to draw attention to the issue of drugs __ __ through his song. The song was released in 2010 at a time in Australia where 14.7% of people aged 14 years and older used illicit drugs in the last 12 months (Australian Institute of Health and Welfare 2011).

The public that this song represents is drug abuse and usage. Drug abuse is defined as the use of illegal drugs, or the misuse of prescription or over-the-counter drugs for at least a year with negative consequences (University of Maryland Medical Centre, 2011). This topic has come into the spotlight more recently as we are seeing more people becoming involved with drugs, including highly paid athletes, celebrities and people within the public eye. Within this wiki I will be looking at the dangers of drug usage and if sending offenders to prison or putting them in a __  __ works.

Drugs have come into everyday __ __ and life in recent times, with more and more people using or trying illicit drugs than ever before. 17% of men and 12.3% of women have used illicit drugs in the past 12 months according to Australian Drug Foundation, 2011. This statistic might seem low to some people but not all people would admit to taking illegal substances or some might even think what they are taking isn't illegal at all.

With this statistic we are seeing more people in jails for drug related offences and more people dying from this addiction. In 2009, 8.4% of males and 4.8% of females died from drug related __ __, which is an increase from 2008 where we saw 8.1% of males and 4.3% of females dying from drug related deaths (Australian Bureau of , 2012). A reason why we are seeing more deaths is because with more people using more frequently they want heavier and stronger drugs but unfortunately this have a deadly affect. We are seeing drugs in every part of society, no longer are we seeing just the low socio-economic people involved. From the rich of rich people right down to people that are on Centrelink payments using drugs, this is alarming as drugs can affect anyone of any race, gender or. Governments around the world are trying everything to stop this trend, some are succeeding slowly, and others haven’t seen any improvements only increases.

The reason why drugs are an important issue is because we are seeing the age of people using decreasing, more people going to jail because of the issue and more people are dying. All these issues are putting a strain on not only the health system but also people around the drug user, the support network that keeps them alive.

The increase in drug usage might be contributed to the increase in peer pressure for kids to __ __, with drugs being seen as cool, the increase in pressure to be the best at sport for athletes and finally it might have come from singers and movie stars that people watch and look up to. Example of this is in Macklemore’s song when he says, “That is the same stuff Wheezy’s sipping huh”, Wheezy being Lil Wayne. Lil Wayne is constantly being watched by young and old people __ __ cough syrup, a drug. This influences the people that look up to him and watch him. Mackelmore also says “Us as rappers underestimate the power and the effects that we have on these kids”, if they see these celebrities doing something or wearing something they want to do the same or wear the same. These people are suppose to be role models to kids, not being seen taking drugs. Everywhere you look you see more high people being caught with drugs or doing drugs. This is why we must stop the popularity of drugs. People need to know that drugs are dangerous and not cool, they can kill you.

Drugs have not always been seen as bad or illegal, from the 1960’s to about the 2000’s drugs were seen as the normal thing, it was seen as a craze. Until recently no one really cared about the dangers. Most people in the 1970 didn't really understand the dangers, so they didn't worry and continued to use (Robinson, 2002). It is just in recent times that people are becoming aware of the effects that drugs can have on the users and now the want action to stop the popularity.

Throughout history some people have wanted drugs to be legalised. They believe this will cut __ __ spent on sending drug users to jails, make sure people are buying clean, safe drugs from drugs shops instead of backyard labs and also making drugs  take away the attraction of taking something illegal. They ensure people will know the risks involved and know where to get help if they need it. This sounds all good on paper but will this work (Shah, 2008).

I believe what we are doing is correct but some modifications should be made. More information about the dangers of using or taking drugs needs to told to the population and not sugar coat it, we need to stop people from gaining __ __ to the ingredients and the tools to make these drugs and lastly I believe we need to treat people with this addiction of drug usage and  not imprisonment. Put them in jail but try and help them stop their addiction. It will cost more __ __ rehabilitating but in the long run we will have less people re-offend and going back to jail. Methodologies that have been put in place for drugs are making them illegal, increased police crackdown, harsher penalties and compulsory treatment programs. Limitations for these are making drugs illegal will not stop people from taking them, increased police crackdowns needs money to fund it and compulsory treatment with only help the people who engage in it. We are just treating these people as criminals without fully understanding their problem. We exclude them and treat them as outcasts, maybe if we sit down and better understand what is going on then we will see a decrease in this health problem.

People have been doing everything to stop drug usage, from information about the dangers to help programs and even tougher penalties for people who use drugs. These all are great ideas but they all seem to be not working, although if you look at all the statistics some are decreasing slowing. This is a reward for the hard work that has been put into this issue. Over the next couple of years these numbers are sure to go down if we continue to put in the effort.

Ultimately people who take drugs do so because people around them do. This is why I believe drug taking is more structure over agency. As people are influenced to take drugs by other people. This view is why we see more drug users in low socio-economic groups as it is common for these people to be affected by substance abuse and therefore ultimately influence other people to take drugs. You hear a lot of children reply to the question; “Why do you take drugs”, with “Because my friends do”.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 1.5;">Culture could also influence if the person choices to partake in drugs. If their culture doesn't believe that drugs are harmful these cultural beliefs will provide a heavy influence on the person. This all means we can’t just target a couple of people to try and stop the drug usage, we must target whole groups and societies to bring the usage down. This has worked before in the 1970’s where drug taking was popular, but after this era more people began to stop and this resulted in a decrease in usage because it wasn't seen as popular anymore.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 1.5;">The people that are influenced the most by what people do and think are younger teenagers. As they succumb to peer pressure more because their brain has a less developed ventral striatum (The Psychology Career Centre, 2013). From this peer pressure the kids are more likely to continue using until their early to late twenties, where we see 31% of 18-29 year old using in the past 12 months (Authoritative information and statistics to promote better health and well being, 2007). A social group that is also influenced heavily upon is that of low socio-economic status. Within this group the parents play an important role and if they are doing drugs then it is more likely the children with be involved in drugs as well. This is because drugs are wrongly associated with people who are poor and dirty and come from low SES groups. So these people just believe it is a part of who they are, ‘drug takers’, and it continues through the generations.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">Awareness of this issue is important as it is not confined to one race, gender or country, it can affect anyone and also it is preventable. If we all took a stand on drugs we would see an improvement, with less people in jails, people would be healthier and less money spent on the issue. With this being said, not all people are affected equally so different ways need to be thought up to help drug users. Public health experts need to focus on why people take drugs to better understand the problem and also address the issue as a condition and treat it as an addiction not a crime. Find jobs for these people to take their mind and time off taking drugs and also more education is needed for everyone so they are aware of the dangers associated with this addiction.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">The ‘Otherside’ by Macklemore is representing an issue that we are seeing more and more in today’s society, that previously was pushed aside as something less important. This song is a good example of a push against drug use as Macklemore is singing about experiences of his not just singing about something he thinks he knows. He is trying to raise an issue throughout his song not just singing about nothing. With his popularity he is trying to sing about certain issues that he feels necessary to be raised. I feel passionate about drugs as like Macklemore speaks about in his song, I've seen too many people become drug affected and ruin their lives when they didn't have to go down that road. From doing this assessment I have learnt that no matter what us humans do we are ultimately influenced by something, maybe that is other people, government or even policies. Also from looking at statistics on drugs that they can affect anyone not just a sole group and this is why it is such an important issue but not one that is easily fixed.

__<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">Reflection- __ []

[]

__<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">References __
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">Australian Bureau of Statistics. 2012. //Drug induced deaths//. [online] Available at: http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/Lookup/by+Subject/4125.0~Jan+2012~Main+Features~Drug+Induced+Deaths~3260 [Accessed: 7 Oct 2013]
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">Australian Drug Foundation. 2011. //Men and Substance Use: The Facts//. [image online] Available at: http://www.druginfo.adf.org.au/information-for/men-and-substance-abuse-infographic [Accessed: 7 Oct 2013]
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">Australian Institute of Health and Welfare 2011. Drugs in Australia 2010: tobacco, alcohol and other drugs. Drug statistics series no. 27. Cat. no. PHE 154. Canberra: AIHW.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">Authoritative information and statistics to promote better health and wellbeing 2007. //Statistics on drug use in Australia 2006//. [press release] 12 Apr 2007
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">The Psychology Career Centre. 2013. //Peer pressure//. [online] Available at: http://www.allpsychologycareers.com/topics/peer-pressure.html [Accessed: 18 Oct 2013]
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">Robinson, J. 2002. //Decades of Drug Use: Data From the '60s and '70s//. [online] Available at: http://www.gallup.com/poll/6331/decades-drug-use-data-from-60s-70s.aspx [Accessed: 7 Oct 2013].
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">Shah, A. 2008. //Illicit drugs//. [online] Available at: http://www.globalissues.org/article/755/illicit-drugs [Accessed: 7 Oct 2013].
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">University of Maryland Medical Centre. 2011. //Drug abuse//. [online] Available at: http://umm.edu/health/medical/ency/articles/drug-abuse [Accessed: 7 Oct 2013]