Drug Addiction - Essay Example

Download file to see previous pages... It is an individual’s own life, and he/she can choose to live as they wish without any interference from the society. What individuals or drug addicts fail to understand is that the problem affects the whole society in one way or the other. Mills (2000) would argue that people lack sociological imagination, hence, they cannot see the link between their private life and the world around them. For Mills, private lives are a series of traps where individuals feel they cannot overcome their troubles. Trouble is a private matter and occurs when an individual feels his/her value is threatened, but if the value is cherished by the public and the public feels it is threatened it becomes an issue (Mills, 2000, p. 8). In line with the sociological imagination perspective, the aim of this paper is to explore the problem of drug addiction and its impact on the society. This can only be understood by linking biography (human nature) to history and how they intersect within the social structure. Drug abuse is an equal opportunity destroyer as it affects people across the board. According to NIDA (2013) no group is immune to substance abuse and its damage. For Hanson, Venturelli and Fleckenstein (2011, p. 2) it affects people “across all income levels, social classes, gender, race, ethnicity, age groups, and lifestyles. Drug abuse is dangerous to the health of individuals and a main cause of death not only to individuals, but the family and members of the society especially due to drugged driving. According to NIDA 19.5 million people aged 12 or older were current users of illicit drugs in 2003. 10-22% of car crashes are caused by drugged driving and tobacco causes 30% of all heart disease deaths each year. Marijuana is the most commonly used among 25.8 million individuals of 12 years of age and older reporting past year use (Lyman, 2011, p. 4). Other drugs include heroin, cocaine, psychotherapeutics, and methamphetamine. So if drug abuse is as dangerous as statistics shows, why do individuals engage in this activity? According to Lyman (2011) there are different motivations for drug abuse as there are various personalities. Some people take drugs as a personal choice, and as such see locking up drug users as a violation of their rights. As one victim puts it, whose business is it? He believes that since he doesn’t affect other people’s lives, it is his own business (Hanson et al., 2011, p. 2). Individuals are, thus, aware that drug abuse is wrong at least according to the societal values, but they consider it a private matter, what they do or do not do is their problem. According to Mills, if people are not aware of cherished values or threats to such values they experience uneasiness, but if they feel threatened they experience indifference and this is what modern problems pose to individuals and the community (2000, p. 11). Some people are not aware of the value of not using illicit drugs, but they feel uneasy since they feel they are trapped by the society that prohibits them from drug abuse. Whereas drug abuse is a personal choice, some people engage in such an activity due to their upbringing or socialization. Children grow up in different environments, hence, have different experiences. If a child is brought up in an environment where drug use is prevalent, the likelihood of being influenced by peers is high. Most of these ...Download file to see next pagesRead More