Social Problems - Essay Example

Download file to see previous pages In this way, the competing views of societal understanding as compared to medical science can be understood as a function of how they share vastly different views on the same topic.
Of course, prior to beginning an analysis of how the medical community, evidenced by this particular article, views drug addiction, it is necessary to point out that neither science nor society behave as a singular entity. What is meant by this is that although prevailing views exist within each group, neither one can be categorically defined as all believing a certain way with reference to a certain issue. In this way, the views and opinions that will be discussed within this brief analysis will be from the point of view that the author has interpreted the majority of society and the medical/scientific community to espouse these views. Obviously, this means that there are elements of both groups that do not subscribe to these prevailing theories or their derivatives.
Firstly, it should be understood that the prevailing view in society is that drug use and abuse is something that afflicts “weak” individuals; or those that simply cannot “say no to drugs”. In this way, a theory develops in which society views the entire drug use/abuse dynamic in a way that simply dismisses the issue as something that can be defined by an overall lack of willpower. This lack of willpower is further illustrated, so they believe, by the fact that not only could the drug user have the moral fiber to resist the drug in the first place, they additionally cannot find within themselves the courage and perseverance to put the drug away once they are hooked on it. This failure to understand the chemical dependencies that help to define drug abuse for the tens of thousands of individuals who suffer from this on a daily basis is quite an oversight. Although ...Download file to see next pagesRead More