Social Control and American Society on Prostitution (Term Paper Sample)

The Effects of Drug Abuse on Society
Name of Student
Institutional Affiliation
Introduction
Zaman et al. (2015) define drug abuse as the willful intense misuse of drugs. It is the intentional misuse of pharmaceutical chemicals to create perceived pleasurable feelings in the brain or body. In most cases, long-term drug abuse leads to drug addiction or dependency. Once an individual reaches the point of drug dependency, it is extremely difficult for them to stop the habit. Drug abuse causes a lot of negative effects on the society. Most people ignore this fact and tend to believe that only the drug abuse victim bears the burden of addiction and dependency. This research study will evaluate the effects of drug abuse on the victims, their families, and the society at large.
Research Questions
1. What are the effects of drug abuse on the victim?
2. What are the effects of drug abuse on the immediate family of the victim?
3. What are the effects of drug abuse on society?
4. What possible solutions can address the problem of drug abuse in society?
Significance of the study
Drug abuse poses a major challenge not only to the victims and their immediate families but also to the society at large. There is need to understand the tribulations that drug abuse victims go through in their lives. It is also necessary to appreciate that the negative impacts of drug abuse directly or indirectly affect the entire society. Furthermore, we should also understand what these negative impacts are. By understanding and appreciating these factors, it would be easier to come up with solutions to this menace. Understanding and appreciating the said factors would also aid in providing the necessary care and support to the victims of drug abuse and their families.
Effects of drug abuse on the victim
According to Fisher (2011), the US government reported that ten years ago, close to 23 million Americans were drug abusers. Fisher also explains that there is no similarity in characteristics between drug abusers. Different drug abusers experience different challenges due to the different characteristics of their drug abuse problems. However, researchers group the most common challenges facing drug abusers into economic, social, and mental challenges. These challenges directly contribute to each other. Eventually, the drug abuser’s economic, social, and mental conditions worsen.
Individuals with drug dependency often cannot do without drugs (Weiss, Baler, Volkow & Compton, 2014). These individuals require drugs to perform even the most basic tasks, like getting out of bed. Drugs severely diminish the abusers’ physical and mental capabilities (Islam, Hossen, Hossain, Fatima & Khatun, 2015). Therefore, they end up spending huge amounts of money on drugs to function well. They rarely have any control over the number of drugs they use. Drug abusers find it difficult to gain meaningful employment. Since these individuals spend uncontrollable amounts of money on drugs, and they also cannot find decent, well-paying jobs, they often end up in economic difficulties. Over time, they cannot afford their basic needs, like clothes and food.
The lack of basic needs, employment, and growth opportunities often pushes drug abusers towards depression and mental disorders. Zaman et al. (2015) report that these individuals lack a sense of purpose and fulfillment. Furthermore, the chemical substances they inject directly affects their brains. Zaman et al., 2015 note that the effects of substance abuse are more progressive in younger people. These drugs directly cause mental disorders in drug abusers. Freeman, 2011 explains that if not treated quickly, mental disorders progress rapidly, and treating them becomes difficult. It is also expensive to treat drug abuse and mental conditions. Therefore, drug abusers rarely seek treatment.
The society is harsh in judging individuals who suffer from mental disorders. As a result, society often shuns victims of drug abuse instead of getting them the help they need. The stigma of being a drug addict, coupled with the condemnation from society due to mental disorders, significantly affects the social lives of drug abusers. These individuals end up living in isolation. They avoid public spaces and other individuals. Ultimately, the negative treatment from society worsens their mental condition. The society, in turn, ends up treating them even worse, and it becomes a vicious cycle. Unless society assists the victims of drug abuse, they end up completely dysfunctional.
Effects of drug abuse to the immediate families of the victims
Barnard (2007) notes that society has hardly paid attention to the immense problems that drug abuse has brought to families of drug abusers. According to Barnard (2007), families of drug abusers go through fear, loneliness, stigmatization, anger, and frustration. The society tends to look more into the problems facing the victims, and forget that families that take care of these individuals are also hard hit by the menace. Families of victims of drug abuse face gigantic economic and social challenges. Just like the victims of drug abuse, affected families undergo daunting economic positions. They have to support the victims who cannot find themselves. In most circumstances, to provide care for the drug abuser, a family member has to leave his or her job and focus on the victim. Some family members lose their source of income, but they still have to support the victim economically. In the case that the family member who quits work is the breadwinner, the situation becomes dire. The case is similar if the individual who is now a drug addict was the breadwinner of the family. This effect disrupts the entire family. The family may even have to dig into their property and savings to afford treatment for the victim.
Barnard (2007) also reports that society often judges and isolates families of victims of drug abuse. These families end up dejected and lonely. Sometimes, society will associate the victims of drug abuse and their families of criminality. The society will often presume that the family of the drug abuser is to blame for the drug addict’s conditions. Ultimately, the conditions become intolerable for the families of the victims. In most cases, these families will end up breaking up. These circumstances may push more family members into drug abuse.
Effects of drug abuse to the society
Eric (2017) notes that alcohol and drug abuse has high socioeconomic costs. Additionally, drug abuse also affects productivity and the culture of a society. Given that drug abuse is a vast menace that transcends gender and age, the majority of the people in the society are affected either directly or indirectly. It is common for members of society to ignore the burden of drug abuse, especially if they are not directly affected by the problem. However, according to Eric (2017), the whole society, up to the national level, is affected by the challenge of drug abuse.
The most acknowledged burden of drug abuse to society is the economic challenge. Most nations and states spend a lot of money on combating drug abuse. Baldasare (2011) explains that the cost of prescription drug abuse is upwards of billions of dollars. In addition to this, the budget allocated to drug-fighting agencies like the Drug Enforcement Administration is relatively high. The government spends billions on measures to curb drug trafficking and drug abuse. Furthermore, the economic impact extends to spending on drug awareness campaigns.
Drug abuse is a major challenge among people in the working population. According to Eric (2017), youths who engage in drug abuse lose their potential to be productive in society. Donohue & Azrin (2012) points out that the prevalence of drug abuse among individuals in the school-going age is relatively high. Given these facts, the problem of drug abuse becomes evident in the productivity of society. The menace robs the society of workers who may have been highly educated and trained. Drug abuse also affects the learning process of students. As a result, society may face a decline in the number of skilled or educated workers. Eric (2017) explains that drug abuse and drug addiction lead to poverty in people, families, and societies.
Furthermore, drug abuse brings about high rates of crime in society. Individuals who suffer from drug addiction and drug dependency conditions, and who do not have the money to finance their habits result in criminal activities. High crime rates have a high cost to society. Baldasare (2011) explains that the value of property lost in crime is tremendously high. Businesses find it untenable to operate in such societies. The closure of businesses and insufficient investments lead to job losses. The loss of jobs pushes the members of society into poverty. Ultimately this cancer spreads, and the cultural and moral fabric of the society is stained.
Solutions to the drug abuse problem
Understanding the scope and magnitude of the problems that drug abuse impacts on society result in more informed solutions. The solutions to the problem of drug abuse should not only apply to the victims of drug abuse but also their families and the entire society. Coming up with solutions to this menace is the responsibility of everyone, not just the state or the victims’ families. After all, as discussed above, drug abuse negatively impacts all members of society in one way or the other. The proposed solutions should consider all the parties affected by drug abuse. The families of the victims should not be overlooked by those who put in the effort to remedy the situation...