Substance Abuse's Effect On American Society: A Sociological Analysis
Substance Abuse’s effect on American Society: a Sociological Interpretation
Amanda Angrisani, RN PCCN
Western Governors University
When turning on the television or opening a newspaper, the American population is faced with disdaining reports of numerous social problems. Social problems are all around us, lurking on every street across America. Obesity, substance abuse, homelessness, and sexuality inequality are a few social problems Americans face on a daily basis. Of the social problems that exist in America, this essay will focus on substance abuse, in particular the rise of heroin abuse and heroin related deaths. The National Institute on Drug Abuse, or NIDA, states that substance abuse kills over 90,000 Americans a year; with …show more content…
Merton’s belief that American society causes the individual to become deviant because of the overemphasis on monetary success without the emphasis on the means of achieving said success (Tischler, 2011). Individuals are pushed to become deviant because they want to become successful and do so by any methods possible, even with illegal or illegitimate means. This can be evidence to why “drug-dealers” continue to become successful. Merton further divided deviants into four different types emerging from this strain (Tischler, 2011). “Drug-dealers” would fall into the type that Merton described as “innovators”. Tischler defines “innovators” as people who “accept the culturally validated goal of success but find deviant ways of going about reaching it.” These deviant “drug-dealers” make lucrative amounts of money in short periods of time with little effort exposing society to the negative consequences of drug addictions; drug-dealers are feeding America’s addiction to …show more content…
NIDA states in the research report from 2014 that injection drug users are among the highest group to contract hepatitis C. They further state that for every one person who has hepatitis C, the user will contaminate more than 20 other individuals with the disease. With these types of statistics, the hepatitis epidemic will continue to rise in America as non-injection drug user Americans can potentially be exposed unknowingly.
In 2005, NIDA released “Drug Abuse and Addiction: One of America 's Most Challenging Public Health Problems”. In this article, they name top social problems related to drug abuse. They name drugged driving and violence as two additional problems. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration estimates between 10 and 20% of drivers in motor vehicle accidents are under the influence of illegal drugs. Further proof of the negative effects of drugs on society, a study has shown that more than half of arrested criminals tested positive for drug-use at time of crime (Bachman 2001).
In conclusion, substance abuse is detrimental to society. It is killing the American population and increasing many health epidemics. Substance abuse is a social issue that has been around for many previous generations and will continue to be a social issue that many generations will have to
Amanda Angrisani, RN PCCN
Western Governors University
When turning on the television or opening a newspaper, the American population is faced with disdaining reports of numerous social problems. Social problems are all around us, lurking on every street across America. Obesity, substance abuse, homelessness, and sexuality inequality are a few social problems Americans face on a daily basis. Of the social problems that exist in America, this essay will focus on substance abuse, in particular the rise of heroin abuse and heroin related deaths. The National Institute on Drug Abuse, or NIDA, states that substance abuse kills over 90,000 Americans a year; with …show more content…
Merton’s belief that American society causes the individual to become deviant because of the overemphasis on monetary success without the emphasis on the means of achieving said success (Tischler, 2011). Individuals are pushed to become deviant because they want to become successful and do so by any methods possible, even with illegal or illegitimate means. This can be evidence to why “drug-dealers” continue to become successful. Merton further divided deviants into four different types emerging from this strain (Tischler, 2011). “Drug-dealers” would fall into the type that Merton described as “innovators”. Tischler defines “innovators” as people who “accept the culturally validated goal of success but find deviant ways of going about reaching it.” These deviant “drug-dealers” make lucrative amounts of money in short periods of time with little effort exposing society to the negative consequences of drug addictions; drug-dealers are feeding America’s addiction to …show more content…
NIDA states in the research report from 2014 that injection drug users are among the highest group to contract hepatitis C. They further state that for every one person who has hepatitis C, the user will contaminate more than 20 other individuals with the disease. With these types of statistics, the hepatitis epidemic will continue to rise in America as non-injection drug user Americans can potentially be exposed unknowingly.
In 2005, NIDA released “Drug Abuse and Addiction: One of America 's Most Challenging Public Health Problems”. In this article, they name top social problems related to drug abuse. They name drugged driving and violence as two additional problems. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration estimates between 10 and 20% of drivers in motor vehicle accidents are under the influence of illegal drugs. Further proof of the negative effects of drugs on society, a study has shown that more than half of arrested criminals tested positive for drug-use at time of crime (Bachman 2001).
In conclusion, substance abuse is detrimental to society. It is killing the American population and increasing many health epidemics. Substance abuse is a social issue that has been around for many previous generations and will continue to be a social issue that many generations will have to