Affect of Drugs on Society

Recent years have seen a sharp global denunciation of drug abuse, with prominent international organizations calling for immediate action by the appropriate authorities to improve the situation. Drug misuse, along with smoking and alcohol addiction, has become a big issue in many nations, including the US, where $486 billion was spent in 2013 treating various health issues brought on by substance abuse. According to several statistics, there has been a major rise in drug addiction worldwide during the past 20 years. As a result, this subject has received substantial scholarly attention. For instance, current research and reports done have shown that there has been an alarming rate at which people have engaged in substance abuse globally. The recent statistics indicated that approximately 23,000 people in the US alone succumb to drug abuse annually costing the tax payers approximately 67 billion yearly (Fox, Oliver & Ellis, 2013).
Subsequently, the use of different addictive drugs has been on the forefront in contributing to immoral conduct in the community by weakening every social fabric that is meant to enhance morality among the public. The cost of drugs is conspicuous and its deleterious consequence unquestionable. Day by day the social order gets weakened through drug usage, it resources is underutilized while sometimes being overstretched to care for the needs of the addicts (Fox et al., 2013).
The effects of substance abuse to the society can never be quantified in any aspect. As a result, the effects are felt by both the users and even those who are not using (Fox et al., 2013). Since the drugs used are likely to influence on how people behave as well, their commitment to humanity needs has greatly been impaired leading to delayed growth of the community.
Consequently, the major task of this paper is to look into the various effects that are caused by the use of drugs. In accomplishing its objective, the research paper will delve into two different theoretical approaches that attempt to explain human behavior in relation to drug usage. The paper will similarly apply different theoretical perspectives to drug abuse and its effect on the general public. Lastly, the paper will focus on examining different effects that drugs have brought to the entire population.
Theoretical Perspectives on Drug Use
Different researchers and scholars have developed various theories which can be used to explain social problems. The theoretical perspectives attempt to explain why people tend to engage in a certain activity. In this case, the perspectives will be used to explain why an individual may end up using drugs by linking it to various factors within the community. The selected perspectives that will be linked to drug use and its effects on the society are Symbolic Interactionism and Functionalism perspectives.
Application of Symbolic Interactionism to Social Problems
The emphasis of this perspective is laid or established on individual's interaction with other persons and how they consequently interpret it (Blumer, 1969). According to the theory, people do not simply learn and build on those roles, behaviors, and activities which have been established in the community, but they will tend to construct them in the result of an interaction. Consequently, the individual concerned will mostly depend on symbols like words used or even gestures and other behaviors to signify their common understanding through their interactions.
According to the theory, it is possible to gain social order as an individual will frequently learn from what other people are doing. In its view, Symbolic Interactionism assumes that social problems are a result of interaction within the community. The perspective is based on two pillars: first, social problems and abhorrent acts such as drug abuse are essentially cultured from our normal interaction with individuals who are engaging in such behaviors (Blumer, 1969). Secondly, the perspective assumes that one can easily learn perceptions that are related to a certain social delinquent resulting from the communication with persons whose views can significantly sway their perceptions as well (Blumer, 1969).
When applied to drug abuse, symbolic interactionism focuses mainly on investigating and explaining how an individual could make the decision of engaging in substance abuse. The symbolic perspective will in addition attempt to evaluate the specific place that is used for such activities as delving into how a person's interaction with other addicts could influence him or her (Blumer, 1969).
Application of Functionalism Perspective to Social Problems
The theory holds that a society is comprised of interconnected and interdependent sections or parts which at any time tend to work harmoniously to attain a social balance (Gans, 1972). The distinct parts of the community, according to functionalism theory, are meant to achieve different objectives that directly benefit the well-being of the citizens. According to this perspective, emphasis should be placed on the interconnectedness of the public and how individuals eventually define the social values and status. The main assumptions that underlay this perspective include the presumption that the society's stability is contingent on the level of socialization.
Social interaction has been credited with enhanced socialization among people which have primarily helped in transferring social values and perception within the community (Gans, 1972). Secondly, it assumes that public institutions are vital in transforming the balance within the community as they are primarily set up to perform a given task which includes behavior control. According to the functionalism theory, progressive change in the community is desirable and productive; however, social change poses a great risk to the community (Fox et al., 2013).
Functionalism approach regards immoral behavior such as drug use as the basic cause for weakening the stability in the community. Nevertheless, capitalizing its standpoint, such instability that is caused by a given fall in morality does not necessarily imply or reflect problems in the manner in which the community is structured (Gans, 1972). By referring to the functionalisms, the desired solutions to the communal problems are supposed to be progressive in nature (Pardo, 2014). The solutions to the public problem should not be drastic in nature to offset the anticipated outcome through the relevant functions within the community. Social harm can be viewed as being one of the vital function to the public in fighting other issues. However, it is important to understand that functionalism assumes that the cause of social vices emanates from a fundamental fault in the different structures such as social networks and group organization within the general public (Gans, 1972). Consequently, to solve social problems, functionalism recommends the use of a far-reaching mechanism which will ensure that the structures within the society which promote such problems are fully and progressively eradicated (Lander, Howsare, & Byrne, 2013).
The application of the functionalist approach to social problems such as drug abuse may seem conflicting to some scholars. For instance, the theory may argue that the drug addicts do play a positive function in the culture by ensuring that the security instruments are enhanced and are properly working to confront any crime (Gans, 1972). According to the model, it is wise to come up with different strategies which can be used to manage drug abuse.


Analysis of Drug Effects on the Society
Substance abuse has got numerous problems which have deleterious effects on the general public. Not only does drug abuse affect the addict alone but it also ends up impacting the whole society negatively. In fact, it is the community that is likely to bear the burden of drug abuse which includes the cost of taking care of the drug addicts. This section will, therefore, investigate different effects of drug abuse on the people and how such problems leave their mark on the community.
First, drug abuse has led to family breakups. Due to excessive utilization of drugs, the addicts' families are likely to go through recurrent challenges (Pardo, 2014). For example, such families are prone to family violence, regular abuse, as well as frequent financial problems which make it difficult to provide for the family the basic needs as a great amount of money is spent to buy drugs (Lander et al., 2013). The most affected group in such families is children. In most situations, they are at risk of being taken to care centers so that they can be in the state custody (Pardo, 2014).
Studies have indicated that there has been an increase in family breakups due to substance abuse (Pardo, 2014). This has caused relevant authorities such as the local governments to take care of the children (Pardo, 2014). Such occurrences affect the general public greatly as it is approximated that about $1 billion is needed annually to take care of those children who suffered from the parents using drugs in the US. (Lander et al., 2013). Therefore, drug consumption by different individuals poses a significant risk to destabilizing families and marriages which are the key pillars of the community.
Substance abuse has led to the overstretching and overutilization of health institutions. Due to drug abuse by an ever-increasing population globally, health facilities are overstrained. Consequently, the resources are overused in curing those people who are suffering from drug-related illnesses such as cancer among many others. According to a study conducted in the US, in the year 2013, approximately 15% of those patients who were admitted to the hospitals were strongly addicted to drugs (Lander et al., 2013). Additionally, it showed that approximately 25 % of the money meant to cure natural illnesses was spent on treating substance addiction (Lander et al., 2013). Such figures are alarming to the entire population. Frequently, the scarce resources within the healthcare facilities are used to treat different health conditions that result from drug abuse.
Furthermore, drug abuse has also increased the level of social crime in the society. Occasionally, the addicts may find it difficult to buy the drugs since some of them may be unemployed. Therefore, the only option left for such people is committing crimes such as theft so that they can get the money for buying drugs. Many of the addicts were found conducting robbery with violence as well as killing with aim of pickpocketing the victims (Fox et al., 2013). As a consequence, many of them are arrested and taken to jail after being found guilty of drug abuse and engaging in social crimes (Fox et al., 2013). Automatically, meeting the related criminal expenses becomes a cost to the public as it has to come up with law enforcement personnel and institutions, court expenses by the families of the addicts, and incarceration costs (Fox et al., 2013).
Similarly, drug addiction has negatively affected public welfare. After being arrested and prosecuted, many of the substance addicts are placed on probation. Some may be involved in social work or even vocational rehabilitation programs. All these programs involve the use of public resources which are directly taken from the community. There is no way through which such costs can be re-integrated back to the society (Zarkin, Cates & Bala, 2000). Subsequently, it is the entire population that takes up the responsibility of meeting the associated costs in the cases where there are no private parties being engaged. For instance, many governments have spent billions of money in setting up rehabilitation centers. Such programs are costly as they constitute an overhead expense to the public (Zarkin et al., 2000).
Moreover, substance abuse results in public impairment by paralyzing operations in certain areas. A great number of drives, medical officers, and other employees do use drugs. Many of them have always operated under the influence of drugs (Lander et al., 2013). In such case, majority of them ends up making professional mistakes. Doctors are likely to cause additional problems for their patients, for instance, administering overdose, especially when under the influence of drugs (Zarkin et al., 2000). Studies have pointed out that approximately 18,000 cases of professional accidents due to drugs were reported in the US in 2012 signifying a 2.5% increase from previous year (Fox et al., 2013). Additionally, those who are found abusing drugs are likely to be terminated.
Lastly, drug abuse has negative effects on the environment. Outdoor cultivation of marijuana has serious effects on the environment (Lander et al., 2013). The strong inflammable chemicals that are used in preparing of such drugs as marijuana are highly explosive and have been on record for causing fire in the test centers. Additionally, the waste products which result from the manufacturing of meth are usually released into water sources. Such practices have serious implications on lives within the community (Zarkin et al., 2000). The accompanying costs which are used to later clean up the environment become an expense to the community which is already faced with the scarcity of resources.


Conclusion
The aim of this investigation was to delve into the effects that drugs have on the society. Through analysis of the available literature, the paper established the following as the chief problems that drugs have on the society. The research established that drugs affect the society severely by constraining healthcare resources and diverting the funds meant to treat other diseases. Additionally, substance abuse has contributed to family breakups, social crimes, environmental pollution and public sector impairment especially when those who are working in public sectors are under the influence of drugs.















References
Blumer, H. (1969). Symbolic interactionism: Perspective and Method. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall.
Fox, T. P., Oliver, G., & Ellis, S. M. (2013). The destructive capacity of drug abuse: an overview exploring the harmful potential of drug abuse both to the individual and to society. ISRN addiction, 2013.
Gans, H. J. (1972). The positive functions of poverty. American Journal of Sociology, 78, 275-289.
Lander, L., Howsare, J., & Byrne, M. (2013). The impact of substance use disorders on families and children: from theory to practice. Social work in public health, 28(3-4), 194-205.
Pardo, B. (2014). Cannabis policy reforms in the Americas: a comparative analysis of Colorado, Washington, and Uruguay. International Journal of Drug Policy 25(4), 727-735.
Zarkin, G. A., Cates, S. C., & Bala, M. V. (2000). Estimating the willingness to pay for drug abuse treatment: A pilot study. Journal of substance abuse treatment, 18(2), 149-159.