Stigmatization of chemical dependecy as a problem in US society - Term Paper Example

Also, the US government does not readily provides for the treatment and rehabilitation centers for them. Even denying the stamps for baby formula and on other food stuff is just another method for demeaning them. The matter does not end here, but even the insurance companies are reluctant to provide for these people because they can’t be relied on. Section 2 Stigmatization of chemical dependency is a growing concern as it involves various psychological and moral pressures that an individual who is dependent on chemicals has to bear.

Now, it should be clear that all sorts of chemicals are not bad for health, hence the stigma is unjust and unfair. Consider for example, “In 2010, a survey by the UK Drug Policy Commission found that 22 per cent of people think that drug addicts don’t deserve sympathy, and that one in four think that most people wouldn’t become addicted in they had good parents” (Legge, 2012). This stigmatization is not however restricted to the State only but also extends to the individual level too.

Pasteur, Fleming and various other scientists strived to save humanity against diseases and thence came forward with drugs of their own to be able to guard against them. Though it is true that they did not manufacture their medicines but rather discovered them from Nature’s own reserves. It is highly probable that all the medicines do possess some artificial chemicals but that also has a specific reason; it could contain more of that compound and a condensed formula would be much more effective.

Having said all this, this fact is now established that these medicines or chemicals which are also sometimes referred to as drugs were created as a boon. The problem that shall be discussed in this paper is, why is dependency on chemicals is deemed as an issue. And specially when these same chemicals are made to counteract illness, both mental and physical. Some people perhaps become more attached to chemicals that may not be harmful, if taken in small quantities, however, when taken in large doses and frequently, then it may become a case of drug abuse.

It is this sort of the behavior that attaches stigma to itself and not the usual pain killers which are also drugs. Lack of understanding peers or parents and a society that judges on what it sees and not what it feels, is what that contributes to this issue. The first and the foremost problem is that of the society that envelops the individual and as Socrates says, “Man cannot live in isolation”; so the individual does have some reservations against the society which later turns him to be a chemically dependent or worse, a criminal.

A major cause that leads to chemical dependency is the attempt to “fit-in” in a certain group at school because of “peer pressure”. If the individual succeeds in going through plenty of rounds of tequila, they might get in the group but later on this could lead to various other activities which might be illegal or even dangerous. And if the individual fails to hook up, that person may be even become more susceptible to drug addiction due to depression or his inability to do anything. In both the situations, the individual travels from one stigma to another, which harms none but him.

The second stigma that society attaches to the chemically depend