Second, it is also clear how the community of those who live the life of the drug dealer/ user, became heavily influence by the actions and deeds of those who surround them. When you have a population of people who wake up, and do not see hope beyond their current conditions, they easily fall victim to the activities that surround them. Why should an 11 year old boy go to school, if one, the teachers do not hold him to any accountability or interest in why he should stay in school, two, and his father is in prison and the mother is sprung out on drugs? This 11 year old boy become influence by the drug dealer who appear to have all that he needs. His heroes and role models are those who are the drug dealers, and gang members. On his own he learned …show more content…
When I looked at my parents I did not see drug addicts, I saw my parents, and I loved them as such. My parents were what you call functional addicts. They went to work every day, and struggled in their addictions by night. Yes there was times where the lights got shut off, and we had those eviction notices on the doors. Sometimes we did not have food to each. But my parents were my parents and I never questioned them. Most people judge drug addicts as if this is life they choose, and in many cases it is not so. You will never understand the mind of a drug dealer/ abuser until you live in there world. In world of those who are depressed, oppressed, and stressed out drugs serve as a way to escape their current conditions, it does not heal the pain, but it mask the pain. So I live in a community of those who were in pain, and did not know what to …show more content…
Drugs can affect anyone. No drug addict of drug abuser has the same story. You may be wonder how am I where I am in life? I am not a product of my environment because I had many people talk to me about their life, and why I should not follow in their footsteps. I saw how hard it was for my mom and dad to overcome their addictions and I knew that, that is not the life I want for
...lliams wrote in The Cocaine Kids was accurate. Instead of just writing more facts and statistics about these teenagers and cocaine, he told a story. He wrote something that more individuals can read and relate too. I believe the Williams successfully brings value and importance to these drug dealers lives. Williams shows drug dealing in the inner city in a very humane way. Their lives are closed to almost all outsiders because of the fact they are involved with illegal drugs. But after reading this book it showed me that even though they live a very difficult and dangerous way of life, they are not as different to us outsiders then we think. They too, have to continuously make tough and valuable decision to live and be successful within society. These dealers are just kids who had little time to be young and are trying to survive in a violent and corrupt world.
It is not uncommon to view drug addiction as a problem that is created and maintained by the drug addicts. Most of
Drug addicts lie and steal from their families, lose jobs, and do not live stable lives. Abuse of Prescription medication and marijuana is among one of the greatest concerns in the United States, especially in young people because drugs are causing issues between families, money, etc. Addicts find ways to create different drugs. This is making drug abuse difficult to control and ultimately change. In addition, addiction is not only a physical dependence, but also mental. Drug abuse has various causes, effects, and treatments. Based on the pamphlet, “Another Look,” published by Narcotics Anonymous World Services, Inc., states “If we can find greater agreement on what addiction is not, then perhaps what it is may appear with greater clarity” (3). If people can see drug addiction for what it really is, a sickness, then an addict’s family and friends would better understand that addicts do not choose to become addicted to drugs. Addiction is a routine of compulsive behavior (3). In addition, recovering addicts feel very restricted with freedom because they are afraid of abusing drugs again, but want to be free to do as they please at the same time (3). Addicts have a need to control everything because they fear there will be obstacles in life that they may not be able to handle (3). If addicts can find ways to deal with their problems, they may not use drugs as a way to escape reality. There are many ways for addicts to cope with life, such as, counseling, drug rehabilitation centers, family and friends support.
“While we all did some things that were in poor taste, not all of us resorted to such desperate measures. Sure, some did, but not all of us. This has made society view drug addicts virtually as lesser beings. The effect it has had in my life is a loss of trust by others who are aware of my past addiction issues” (treatment4addiction.com) Many people see drug addicts as lowlifes who need to stop doing drugs and believe that it is easy to do so. They believe that all drug addicts are scum, that they are not people like everybody else. They do not see it as a disease and because of this they tend to completely shut out the family member or friend suffering from this. In an interview with PocosPeroLocos.FM Williams
Drugs seem to be an issue everywhere. Just like alcohol, the drug trade is not a primary issue for one race. Drugs serve a heavy impact to all those involved. Drugs are not just reserved to those that use them, but also to the manufacturers and distributors of the drugs. An excerpt from Anderson (1990) involves a former dealer describing the drug culture. He states, “The way I see it, there’s top dogs, middle dogs, and low dogs. The top dogs are the guys with the money, dudes with the cars…the middle dogs are the ones who sell drugs for the top dogs…and they sell it to the low dogs” (p. 7). However, it does not stop there. Drugs also affect the family and friends of those involved. Many residing within areas centered on drugs often times express feelings of anxiety and fear. Wacquant (2007) states that petty theft, drug use, the resale of stolen goods, vandalism, and alcoholism are the most visible form of delinquency (p. 208).
Some people argue that the drug users aren’t the heroin victims. One writer notes, 'The parents of the user who steals from them, abuses them, physically, emotionally and mentally, the siblings who suffer the loss of care and love but who also get abused and used by the user, the kids of the user who learn that the parent's desire for smack is greater than the desire to be a parent,' are the real heroin victims (Fitzgerald, 2000). This problem therefore effects not only the user but the society living around them as well.
When people hear the words drug addict, these words have negative connotations and stigmas attached to them. People visualize a person who does not care about anything, including family, work, or commitments, except for obtaining money to buy drugs to get high. However, there are many people who are drug addicts that maintain a normal, functioning life. Before we can examine why these people are addicted to drugs, one must first define the word addict.
Many people begin to do drugs to forget, and not to feel the pain of their lives. When the person begins the drug it opens a window for addiction. Adults who have a past of childhood of abuse want to forget their repulsive past more than anyone, and this leads to having drug problems. In fact, adult’s who have a history of child abuse are two times as likely to become alcoholics (San Francisco Child Abuse Prevention Center). Living a life devoted to being drunk is simply not a life anyone one would be proud to live. Not only is is there a chance of the abused child to become an alcoholic, but their chance of becoming a smoker is also doubled (San Francisco Child Abuse Prevention Center). Smoking demolishes the lungs and kills you ever so slowly. The abused child is now causing detrimental effects to their lungs due to their past. To make matters worse, adults who were neglected as a child are three times more likely to develop a drug addiction (San Francisco Child Abuse Prevention Center). No parent would have exultation in being the cause o...
Many people today view alcohol and drugs very differently than how they were portrayed years ago. In earlier years, there were not that many drugs that were used to save lives as the several different types of drugs that are used today. Today there are drugs used for different treatments for all kinds of diseases. Drugs are a business in which makes billions of dollars, both legally and illegally. Society views drugs majority of the time as something for saving lives, helping society for the better, but many don’t realize the millions of lives it’s destroying. Substance abuse from alcohol, illegal drugs to over the counter drugs and cigarettes can go from a casual once and a while thing to becoming an addiction. Substance abuse can be a huge gateway to addiction that can escalate very quickly. A lot of the time we convince ourselves that people chose to do these drugs so frequently, that addiction is a willing option they do to them-selves. Substance abuse and addiction are more than an individual problem it is a social issue.
Science Education says that continuous taking of drugs causes changes in brain chemical system, including glutamate, a neurotransmitter will influence the reward circuit system and can become abnormally low. It also affects the ability to experience, learn and the pleasure. Now the abusers want to generate the dopamine high by taking higher amount of drugs than what they used to, for more effets. Finally the abuser will be completely addicted for drugs and that causes brain diseases.
It is important to consider how addiction to drugs begins. “Genetics accounts for approximately half of an individual’s vulnerability to addiction, including effects of the environment on gene function and expression” (Volkow). This basically means that once a person is exposed to drugs, they are more likely to become addicted to drugs after that exposure if their genes make them more vulnerable to addiction. Consequently, not every person who is exposed to drugs will develop an addiction because they do not have the genetic make-up that makes them an addictive person, meaning that: “…predisposing genes interact with [exposure to drugs] and other environmental factors to create vulnerability” (Volkow). People cannot change their genetic make-up to prevent themselves from becoming addicted to drugs. They can only limit their exposure to a drug filled...
One last reason is the drug users would hurt their family if they cannot have access to take the drugs for a long time. The drug users’ family is easy to occur loss of employment, the family the disintegration of family, domestic violence especially child abuse (NIH 2012). And the children are easy to addict the drugs if the parents are drug users, because the children gain genetic feature from parents (LIVESTRONG.COM
Since family structures are taking on various forms, families have become more complex and evolving from the traditional nuclear family to single parent families, stepfamilies, foster families, and multigenerational families. When a family member abuses substances, the effects on the family may differ depending on the structure. Extended family members may experience feelings of abandonment, anxiety, fear, anger, concern, embarrassment, or guilt; they may wish to ignore or cut ties with the person abusing substances. Effects on families may continue for generations. Neighbors, friends, and coworkers also experience the effects of substance abuse since the person who abuses substances often is unreliable.
In conclusion drug addiction is a very terrible and challenging problem. It affects individuals, families, and the people around them. It is important that drug addicts realize that they must want to stop and seek help for the problem. The drug addict needs the support of friends and family, so they can make it through this process. The process to recover from drug addiction can take a lifetime. There is hope for a drug addict who wants to change their life for the better.
Abuse can cause countless medical problems to the body. A person who is addicted will continue to stimulate themselves regardless if they are aware of the negative chain reactions. Once addicted, it becomes difficult to stop due to how the body has become dependent. Health will be harmed the more a stimulant is used. Health effects include: cardiovascular disease, strokes, cancer, HIV/AIDS, hepatitis, lung disease, mental disease, birth defects. Mental health is what keeps a person in the right mind to make better decisions and have better control in life. Drugs have the ability to change mood and behavior. If drugs have affected the brain already, the desire increases which changes mental health. Some may not realize that they have been affected their health negatively. “A person who abuses drugs may not realize they have a problem until pronounced effects of drug abuse are seen, often physically. While drug abuse effects on the body vary depending on the drug used, all drug abuse negatively impacts one 's health (Addictions Community). Since drugs create many health issues, treatment is not a simple task. Treatments are hard to obtain and addictions often go