Drugs and Crime in the USA - Essay Example

"Drugs and Crime in the USA" is a good example of a paper on social and family issues.

Drug use in the United States of America is a major issue that affects the society as it is directly related to the high increase in crime rate in the states. The use of psychoactive substances in the U.S has resulted in several negative effects on various societies. One of the major effects is crime increase which has raised a lot of insecurities in the streets of big cities in the states. The other massive impact is the effect on education (Harris, 2007). The U.S constitution highly values education as it is the core factor in the advancement of the nation’s economic systems. However, psychoactive substance use in schools has led to an increase in student drop out cases thus affecting the proactive structures of the U.S economic system (Harris, 2007).  

According to the analysis done by the Community Anti-Drug Coalitions of America (CACDA) and Partnership for a Drug-Free America (PDFA), an estimated population of 12.8 million in the United States holds a 60% population of people above the age of twelve years who engage in the use of psychoactive substances (America’s Drug Abuse Profile, 2012). Nine percent of the people engaging in illegal drug use take marijuana and hashish. A larger population of about one third use cocaine and other non prescribed medicinal drugs. A fifth of the population uses LSD while the remaining uses meth and heroin.  

Psychoactive substance use in the United States has both positive and negative aspects. Psychoactive substances are known to have profound effects on human behavior. In this case, the change in behavior can have beneficial impacts or in other cases lead to negative results. To some societies, drug use is used to create positive practices such as cultural nourishment, for instance, the Native Americans use psychoactive substances to attain a spiritual state of which is viewed as a positive influence of the drugs (Ross, 2013). In this notion, drug use is encouraged in such societies rather than being condemned. Illegal drugs such as marijuana are prescribed to cancer patients to help them relieve their pains that result from Chemotherapy which is indeed a positive aspect. 

However, many societies in the United States consider the use of psychoactive substances as a negative act. This is because of the impacts of the use of these substances as viewed in the streets of many states cities in the U.S. A large percentage of illegal drug users are young people between the age of 17 and 35 years (Thoumi, 2003).  This aspect also contributes to the analogy that psychoactive substance use is a negative thing that has bad effects on society as it leads to addiction which in turn results in irresponsible as well as destructive behaviors that ruin the lives of many people. It also affects the social atmosphere as users tend to become violent thus engage in crimes such as murder, robbery, and rape (Thoumi, 2003). These crimes are rampant in many cities in the United States. As a result, many societies view it as an undermined activity that is punishable by state laws.  

Conclusion  

The use of psychoactive substances has become a major social problem in the world today. The United States is highly affected because of the multi-racial and multi-cultural population brought about by the interactions of the original natives and the alien communities (Thoumi, 2003). This notion has led to the creation of many societies with deferent views on life and its affiliates. Psychoactive substance use has drawn its positive and negative view from the effect of cultural interaction among people in living the United State.