Social Controls that Apply to the Use of Drugs - Essay Example

Social Controls that Apply to the Use of Drugs Cultivation, trade and use of drugs have been a bond of contention among citizens, government officials and religious leaders since time in memorial. As a result, social measures have been put to curb drug abuse. For instance, religious governments began criminalizing cultivation, acquisition and use of drugs in the middle ages. This has passed on to the present day with both non-religious and religious governments imposing social controls in use of drugs (Dobkin, 1972). These social controls include drug prohibition legislation which clearly defines what drug abuse is and the relevant penalties and punishments to be imposed to those who go contrary to these laws. Also use of campaigns such dubbed war on drugs has been a social control which discourages use and abuse of drugs. Various governments and private organizations have come up with rehabilitation centers to help accommodate drug addicts and rehabilitate them. These social controls have their own benefits and drawbacks. Whereas they seem to curb drug abuse they also encourage private use of drugs. According to Hirschi 1969 persons are bound to engage themselves in delinquent behavior when their social bond is weakened (Moore, 1993). Governments have come up with strict laws to control use of drugs. These laws criminalize drug abuse and they give relevant penalties that come along with drug abuse. These laws create an attachment between the drug addict and the society by ensuring that every body acts with the acceptable norms and morals of the society. When individuals have rigid and stable bonds with the society they are likely to deviate from violation of societal norms. Contrary, a person with weak societal bonds seems to care less about other peoples’ farewell and wishes and as a result he is likely to participate in drug use. At times people with strong societal bonds may abuse drugs but then they think about their decisions and try to avoid engaging themselves in crimes because they don’t want to detach themselves from the rest of the society (Dobkin, 1972). Despite the fact that these law seem to be of benefit to both the user and the society, they also have their own drawbacks. For instance incarceration and arrest are bound to have devastating effects on the individual’s family members in instances where the cases are minor (Zinberg, 1984). The family is affected both economically and psychologically. Small cases as was observed in 1998 by the United Nations International Drug Control should be left to states and such small drug offenders should be subject treatment and counseling rather then being imprisoned. The strictness followed in granting parole to nonviolent bona fide drug prisoners is bound to affect their social behaviors even after discharge and isolate them from the society. Therefore review should be made to allow changes such as allowing compassionate release with less strictness as this would encourage prisoners to change behavior so as to get out of prison (Moore, 1993). The second societal control is investing in the youth so as to keep them engaged with relevant activities to nation building. Most governments are resolving into increasing funds to post school programs, summer jobs programs and job training programs. In some countries like the U.S., such programs deny help to students who have drug abuse criminal records. This has helped curb use of drugs among the young generation as it helps fight back poverty as a major cause of drug abuse by enabling youths from poor back grounds have access to education. Investing in the youth has also helped channel funds away from unnecessary ineffective programs so as to come up with effective programs and drug use education to keep the youth involved (Zinberg, 1984). Most state governments have also channeled funds into anti-drug media campaign programs to help in educating the youth about the negative effects of drug use, the relevant laws and penalties that come along with drug abuse and also the correct use f drugs. These campaigns help discourage society against drug abuse by giving them detailed analysis of the consequences of drugs and the negative effects that culminate from such abuse. According to a survey carried out by the Centre for Substance Abuse in 1998, 80% of students mainly got information on the negative effects of drug abuse from the media while only 20% got the information from class and other sources. This apparently shows the critical role that appropriate media campaigns play in curbing use of drugs (Moore, 1993) The same report was also quick to indicate the negatives effects that come along with use of media campaigns as a social control to drug abuse. The media can help pass information on drugs to the innocent youth hence encouraging them to go looking for these drugs (Zinberg, 1984). By clearly outlining the negative impact the drugs have some youths might end up interpreting these impacts as what they have been longing for and as a result resolve into using these drugs so as to gain confidence and maybe manage stress. Also while the media may try to explain on the correct use of some drugs, others are bound to learn how to use these drugs to satisfy their personal desires other than the allowed use. While the media plays the role of educating the youth and advising them against drug abuse, it is also acting as an avenue which drug users use to locate where to get drugs from hence making access to illicit drugs more simple whereby one can order from anywhere without the burden of travelling costs (Grund et al, 1993). Rehabilitation is also one of the social mechanisms used in ending drug abuse. Rehabilitation involves coming up with resource centers to help counsel and accommodate drug users who have become addicts and are willing to do away with this pattern of addiction. For an individual to agree to be rehabilitated he must have a strong desire and determination to do away with substance use. Rehabilitation centers help individuals develop positive attitudes towards drug use avoidance and further educate them on the negative impacts of drug use on their general health. Rehabilitation centers help drug abusers master sobriety (Sansom, 1980). For instance California Drug Rehab Centers and Programs help in teaching reformed drug abusers on how to avoid going back to use of drugs hence helping them attain sobriety. Rehabilitation centers also help drug user’s access professionally trained staff which is able and willing to give appropriate directions and advise to drug users to help them regain their normal lifestyles. These centers also provide good surroundings for recovery from drug use where there is no more pressure from peers to continue using drug (Agar, 1977). Though rehabilitation seems to be the most effective social control of drug abuse, it also comes along with its own disadvantages. The most prominent drawback of rehabilitation centers is the cost. According to statistics, most drug users come from poor backgrounds and can not afford rehabilitation costs hence discouraging most drug users who have a desire to reform (Agar, 1977). Also the relationship between professionals who run these rehabs and drug users plays a critical role in ensuring that these users reform. In instances where there are poor communication and relationship between the two, the program becomes wastage of time to the individual and he might end up going back to substance abuse. Rehabilitation isolates drug users from the society and they might end up feeling discriminated (Grund et al, 1993). Making treatment drug abuse available just as other medical services are readily available is another societal control of drug abuse. Many states and societies have come up with drug rehab Detox centers to help curb drug abuse. Detox centers have helped in widening the treatment services available hence undermining the drug markets and curbing harm resulting from drug abuse. Detox treatment is broad providing both abstinence based treatment and maintenance drugs such as methadone. These centers serve the purpose of ensuing that treatment is user friendly so as to satisfy the needs of the various classes of people. According to a research carried out by the Unites Nations International Drug Control, treatment is by 10 times more effective in minimizing the use of cocaine within the United States than interdiction and it cuts costs hence saving the taxpayer’s money (Sansom, 1980). Drug treatment as a societal control also comes along with its own disadvantages. First it may be costly to treat hence those willing to go trough treatment can not meet the costs. Also availability of relevant drugs to treat drug abuse has influenced youths in western countries to engage in drug abuse with the notion that they can be treated and recover from the effects of these drugs. Drug treatment can only help the user recover from the effects of the drug and limit the desire to use the drug but in occasions where the use is not ready to reform, use of this societal control means becomes ineffective. References Agar, M.H. (1977) "Into that Whole Ritual Thing: Ritualist Drug Use Among Urban American Heroin Addicts". In B.M. Du Toit (ed) Drugs, Rituals and Altered States of Consciousness. Rotterdam: Balkema, pp. 137-148. Dobkin de Rios, M. (1972)"Ayahuasca Healing Sessions". In Visionary Vine: Hallucinogenic Healing in the Peruvian Amazon. Prospect Heights: Waveland Press, pp. 99-116. Grund, J-P, C.D. Kaplan & M DeVries (1993) "Rituals of Regulation: Controlled and Uncontolled Drug Use in Natural Settings". In N Heather et al (eds), Psychoactive Drugs and Harm Reduction: From Faith to Science, London: Whurr Publishers, pp. 77-90. Moore, D. (1993) "Beyond Zinberg"s "Social Setting": a Processual View of Illicit Drug Use", Drug and Alcohol Review, 12: 413-421. Moore, D. (1993) "Social Controls, Harm Minimisation and Interactive Outreach: the Public Health Implications of an ethnography of Drug Use", Australian Journal of Public Health, 17(1): 58-67. Harding, W.M. & N.E. Zinberg (1977) "The Effectiveness of the Sub-culture in Developing Rituals and Social Sanctions for Controlled Drug Use�". In B.M. Du Toit (ed) Drugs, Rituals and Altered States of Consciousness. Rotterdam: Balkema, pp. 111-133. Sansom, B. (1980) "A Style For Grogging". In The Camp at Wallaby Cross. Canberra: Australian Institute for Aboriginal Studies. Weil, A. (1973) "Clues from the Amazon". In The Nature of Mind, Jonathon Cape: London, pp. 98-115. Zinberg, N.E. (1984). "Historical Perspectives on Controlled Drug Use". In Drug, Set and Setting: the Basis for Controlled Intoxicant Use. Yale University Press, pp. 1-18 Read More