Drugs+and+drug+addiction



**Topic: Drugs and drug addiction as cultural artefacts **

**Presented By: **
 * Saleh Alabbas **
 * Student Number: **** N8492531 **
 * Tutor Name: Judith Meiklejohn **



A cultural artifact is any practice or object created by the people who lived in past. The use of drugs is an example. Drugs slow down the ability to think and hence reduce awareness and mental alertness. The use of drugs originated in older times for treating certain medical conditions or to relieve a sufferer’s pain. However, some of the drugs are addictive and cause withdrawal symptoms when a patient tries to kick the habit. Drugs include all forms of medications and chemicals, some of which can be consumed in minute quantity only. Drugs may be swallowed, smoked or injected. Hippies used drugs to keep themselves cozy and unaffected by the sufferings of the world.
 * __The Artefact __**


 * Source: Google**

The public health issue associated with drugs is addiction or substance dependence. This addiction and dependence affects the user and his family monetarily, emotionally and psychologically. The sufferer is known as an addict and feels the compulsive need to use the drug, failing which the addict suffers from withdrawal symptoms which could get worse and require rehabilitation. The long-term consequences include compromised relationships, physical health, mental health, employment and limited understanding of law. It could prompt an addict to commit murder, suicide or robberies. Therefore, drug addicts require help from doctors, support groups, family and friends so as to overcome their addiction. **__Literature Review __** The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV) presented by the American Psychiatric Association (APA) considers drug addiction a mental disorder which highlights the significance of this issue (APA, 2013). APA considers it a mental disorder because drug addicts continue to compulsively use the drugs despite the fact that they are aware of the negative consequences (APA, 2013). This is true for current times when globalization and satellite communication have ensured that people are aware of the good and bad effects of using drugs. There are a number of theories presented by researchers from time to time that explain addiction. The ‘Medical Model’ of drug addiction considers it a brain disease due to neurotransmitter imbalance and this is similar to APA’s findings (Aaron, Wright, Newman & Liese, 2011, Hammer, Dingel, Ostergren, Patridge, McCoormick & Koenig, 2013). Another model is known as the ‘Psychodynamic Model’ according to which the drug addicts are actually self medicating to cover the underlying psychological problems such as depression (Aaron et al., 2011). According to this model, it is a maladaptive psychological coping strategy and the drug addict may be helped with resolving the internal conflict. A third model that explains drug addiction is the ‘Social Model’ which defines drug use as a learnt behavior mainly due to influence of the environment and peer pressure (Aaron et al., 2011). Another of the popular theories is the ‘Moral or the Criminal Justice Model’ which consider drugs evil and its users as punishable (Measham & Shiner, 2009). It says that the drug abusers choose to use drugs and that they are weak and thus become compulsive, which is something they could overcome with willpower (Aaron et al. 2011). The ‘Bio-psycho-social Model’ is a based on ‘Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs’ theory and explains drug addiction as a failure of self-actualization which is a result of issues with the psychology, physiology and social surroundings of the addict (Aaron et al., 2011).  In addition to the ones discussed above, these include the socio-cultural theories, supra-cultural theories, sub-cultural theories and the labeling theories. The socio-cultural theory studies the drug effects, drug-related behavior and drug experiences and argues that drug addiction should be studied after considering such behaviors with respect to the culture (Roy & Miller, 2012). For instance, smoking tobacco and using alcohol is acceptable in USA but smoking marijuana is considered bad (Torsten, 2011). On the other hand, use of marijuana is acceptable in Netherlands (Blackman, 2010). Another theory is based on the supra-cultural model and it attempts to find a link between the culture, social organisation and use of alcohol and how different cultures deal with issues related to it (Dodes, 2009). As an example, France and Italy may be considered. Both countries are leading wine and spirits producers but the French do not disapprove of drunkenness and consume both wines and spirits (Torsten, 2011). On the contrary, Italians disapprove of drunkenness and consume wine only. Thus, France has one of the leading alcoholism rates while Italy has been able to cut down on this measure (Dodes, 2009). Another model is based on the sub-culture theory which aims at finding the impact on groups in same population but with different age, gender, race, ethnicity, socio-economic status and religious affiliation (Zimic & Jukic, 2012). This theory suggests that heroin is more popular among the artists while marijuana is a common drug among the youth, particularly young males (Vakalahi, 2001). The night clubs and rave parties use ecstasy and cocaine if these drugs are available (Measham & Shiner, 2009). Those belonging to the higher social strata and with limited or no religious affiliation are likely to visit night clubs or attend rave parties as compared to their counterparts on the other end of the continuum (Fala & Ross, 2013). Labeling theory is another of the modern theories which argues that a person has no control over the image he or she portrays and that it is actually the response and behavior of other people and their opinions which give us our image (Caouette & Boutland, 2013). This explains the deviance a person might observe in his behavior as a matter of being different from rest of the society or cultural norms and might consider himself diseased (Morphett & Meurk, 2013). Such a person who sees himself in negative light through the lens of the society according to his own perception and understanding is likely to start using drugs (Ford, 2013). This ultimately leads to depression and suicidal thoughts or may lead the drug addict to take law in his hands (James & Saleha, 2009).  The studies above are a combination of horizontal and vertical studies including either of the qualitative or quantitative methods. Different researchers and organisations studying drug addiction have used different methodologies. To quantify a particular behavior, a control group from within the particular population has been used so that the differences and similarities may be studied in a normal person and a drug addict. The methodology also considers the environmental factors, social organisation of the community, and the culture. Most of these theories have also highlighted the differences among groups within the same population based on age, race, ethnicity, religious affiliation and socio-economic status as they have been found to influence the findings. A major limitation of these methodologies is the fact that not all sort of drugs have been studied in detail by any of these studies. The supra-culture and sub-culture theories examine the drug addiction with respect to alcohol only (Torsten, 2011). The labeling and socio-cultural theories examine drugs as a whole, without referring to any particular drugs. Public health requires the use of the most precise methodology in order to get accurate findings. However, the choice of methodology may be mistaken and thus yield findings that mislead the results and thus fail in addressing the underlying issue. **__<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 14pt;">Cultural and Social Analysis __** <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">Unless a person has strong understanding of the society and the culture, one may not be able to relate to behaviors such as drug addiction (Claridge, 1970). Generally, low income countries with high inflation and high unemployment rates present drug addiction as a public health issue (Room, 2005). Thus, people from less developed countries become dependent on drugs to escape the harshness of their environment (Claridge, 1970). This could be termed a government failure but racial and ethnic background as well as the geographic location has a role to play in this. For instance, the Maoris who are the natives of New Zealand are a well researched ethnic group with high rates of drug addiction (Blackman, 2010). They are less educated than an average New Zealander; many are unemployed and live on dole. A significant number of drug addicts in New Zealand are from amongst the Maori people. This is a social behavior of this particular race even though New Zealand is by large a developed country. Similarly, the Hippies were more of a social group in 1960s and 1970s that were famous for being drug addicts trailing from one country to another and living a meaningless life (Goode//,//1970, 1972). Those who grew up in those years might have gone on to become drug addicts due to social constructivism. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;"> As per Weber’s vision, religion has a role to play in influencing the behavior in addition to culture. Judaism and Islam both criticize drug addiction and this may well explain why alcoholism and use of drugs is limited in some of the counties with these religions. Drug addiction and abuse was more common in the past because of lack of awareness and limited support groups. However, the number is still on the rise even though there is both the awareness and support. This is because the socioeconomic setting of the world market has shifted from socialism to capitalism (Ford, 2013). According to Karl Marx, this means that the poor becomes poorer, face more difficulties and is more likely to take refuge in drugs (Room, 2005). Over time, they become addicts. On the other hand, the rich become richer. However, from a global perspective, the socially and culturally backward people with less education and lower income are likely to become drug addicts more than the more advanced, better educated people with better jobs. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">Awareness of drug addiction is necessary because it is very easy to become dependent on drugs. A person may first use a drug on prescription or under peer pressure. However, a few repeated doses might make that person crave for more of that drug and as the threshold rises, so does the craving and quantity of the drug required (Holly, 2004). Ultimately, a person becomes addicted. Therefore, the society needs to be made aware of how easy it is for even a casual drug user to fall for the trap. Public health experts should focus more on those who are less educated, have low paying or no jobs, are socially and morally backward and have a cultural or religious affiliation where drug addiction is not admonished. Starting in the third world countries would perhaps be their best bet. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">Drug addiction represents substance abuse and while it affects the individual and his immediate family or friends the most, the larger society also faces the impact. It is a good ‘case in point’ of the topic because it is the most significant issue associated with drugs and also poses threat to the public health as well as to the socio-cultural setting of the society. Drug addiction means a lot to me because I have personally witnessed cases among my family and friends and in general where a person has become a drug addict, starting off as a casual experimenter of drugs like alcohol, meth, cocaine and marijuana, and then becoming dependent on it. I have seen how it has ruined their lives and how the live just to get the next dose of drugs. Their professional and personal lives have been reduced to nothing. I therefore feel that this literature review on drug addiction has helped me get a better understanding of the issue and I have got a deeper insight into the downsides of drug addiction in terms of the social and cultural settings. I have learnt that drug addiction is detrimental to the whole society across all cultures and that it burdens the social welfare system where it exists. This literature review on drug addiction has been thought provoking and it has laid down the foundation stone for further research in this arena because I feel interested in how drugs in general and drug addiction and abuse in particular relate to public health of the society.
 * __<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 14pt;">The Artefact and Public Health Issue Central to Analysis __**
 * __<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 14pt;">Reflective learning on analysis of drug addiction __**

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">Aaron, T. B., Wright, D., Newman, C. F. & Liese, B. S. (2011). Cognitive Therapy of Substance abuse. Guilford Press. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">American Psychiatric Association (APA). (2013). Addiction Psychiatry. Retrieved from http://www.psych.org/practice/professional-interests/addiction-psychiatry. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">Blackman, S. (2010). Youth subcultures, normalization and drug prohibition: The politics of contemporary crisis and change. //British Politics//, //5//(3), 337-366. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">Caouette, J., & Boutland, D. (2013). Percerption of addiction and its effects on one’s moral responsibility. //AJOB Neuroscience//, //4//(3), 43-44. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">Claridge, G. (1970). //Drugs and human behavior.// New York: Praeger. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">Dodes, L. M. (2009). Addiction as a psychological symptom. //Psychodynamics Practice//, //15//(4), 381-393. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">Fala, N. C., & Ross, K. M. (2013). Addiction as a disease: the call for perspectives from addicted individuals’ family members and treatment providers. //AJOB Neuroscience//, //4//(3), 45-46. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">Ford, P. J. (2013). Values at the crossroads of neurology, psychiatry, psychology. //AJOB Neuroscience,// //4//(3), 1-2. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">Goode//,// E. (1970). //The Marijuana Smokers.// New York: Basic Books.
 * __<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 14pt;">List of References __**

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">Goode, E. (1972). //A sociological perspective on drugs and drug use//. Drugs in American Society. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">Hammer, R & Dingel, M & J, Ostergren, Patridge, B & J, McCoormick, Koenig, B. A (2013), Addiction: Current criticism of the brain disease paradigm, //AJOB Neuroscience//, 4(3), 27-32. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">Holly, C.M. (2004). Applying an ecological framework to understanding drug addiction and recovery. //Journal of Social Work Practice in the Addictions//, //4//(3), 5-22. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">James, F.S., & Saleha, Z. C. (2009). Relationship between anxiety and addiction to a depressant drug. //Journal of Psychoactive Drugs//, //41//(1), 61-66. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">Measham, F., & Shiner, M. (2009). The legacy of ‘normalization’: The role of classical and contemporary criminological theory in understanding young people’s drug use. //International Journal of Drug Policy//, //20//(6), 502-508. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">Morphett, K., & Meurk, C. (2013). The ‘brain disease’ concept in addiction: a cause for ambivalence, not concern. //AJOB Neuroscience//, //4//(3), 48-50. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">Room, R. (2005). Stigma, social inequality and alcohol and drug use. //Informa healthcare//, //24// (2), 143-155. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">Roy, A. K., & Miller, M. M. (2012). The medicalization of addiction treatment professionals. //Journal of Psychoactive Drugs//, //44//(2), 107-118. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">Torsten, K. (2011). Young people, drinking and social class: Mainstream and counterculture in the everyday practice of Danish adolescents. //Journal of Youth Studies//, //14//(3), 295-314. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">Vakalahi, H. F. (2001). Adolescent substance use and family-based risk and protective factors: A literature review. //Journal of Drug Education//, //31//(1), 29-46. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">Zimic, J. I., & Jukic, V. (2012). Familial risk factors favoring drug addiction onset. //Journal of Psychoactive Drugs//, //44//(2), 173-185.

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