I’ve been debating whether to put this out there as it will quite possibly get locked if it goes the wrong way, but I’ve been talking about this with some RL friends and we are of the opinion that use does not always equal abuse when it comes to illegal drugs, yet the media and the powers that be seem to think that it does. I know quite a few people that lead pretty responsible lives, hold down jobs, own businesses and yet they smoke the occasional joint or do a line of coke at a party, but they most certainly are not addicted. Basically the same way that I can go out and have a drink or two and get a slight buzz. So why is it that the media represents anyone that uses illegal drugs as an addict and a loser (apart from the fact that it’s illegal, of course)?
I don’t post in GD because last time I tried I got eaten alive, so please be gentle with me :). There’s just no other place this question belongs.
In general, prohibitionists consider abuse of a substance as employing that substance for the purposes of altering one’s mental state. If you think that the alteration of one’s mental state is verboten, then all use is abuse. If not, then abuse is controversial to define. What one person considers controlled, integrated use, might be considered as a deviating and detrimental influence by another. A practical, consensus definition might be that if you can fulfill your social/personal obligations and maintain decent health, you’re not an abuser. Problem with that notion is that maybe, say, someone gets fired from a job because he took Ecstasy on the weekend and a random drug test on Monday comes up positive. Now, that’s because of the law, rather than a problem of drug “abuse”. In shorter words, due to prohibition, there are externalities that can pose problems, which aren’t due to the drugs. Yet, mainstream society, institutions and politics will label them as “drug problems”.
The DEA considers a substance to have “abuse potential” if users are likely to use that psychotropic substance on their own initiative, for nonmedical purposes, rather than on the advice of medical authorities.
Firstly I will answer no (with a caveat) that use does not always equal abuse.
As to why drug users are portrayed negatively by the media, well that is interesting. Cocaine is probably “the” drug of the wealthy elite. So snorting coke is actually in my experience rarely shown to be this big terrible thing. Sure, some “After School Specials” touch on it. But in general society seems to “leave coke alone.”
What about pot? Potheads as they are called are either portrayed as innate losers with no skills and drive or as comical figures that no one will take seriously. That’s again because our society views them this way.
Cokeheads on the other head are often power brokers and the like so they are less likely to get villainized.
Crack cocaine users are again more villified than powder cocaine users. Why? Crack cocaine is definitely more an urban and black drug than a white drug or the type of drug a cultural elite may use. Our laws even reflect this. Many places if you have a certain amount of powder cocaine it is a misdemeanor, and for the exact same amount of crack cocaine it is a felony.
I think the negative connotation certain drugs receive definitely stems from cultural bias. I mean, alcohol is almost definitely more harmful than weed. Cigarettes are probably more harmful than anything out there, although they are slowly moving towards demonization. But neither of them are as negatively portrayed as any illicit substance.
On top of that there is the culture of extra-precaution we have. With most things American society seems to take the extra step to be overly cautious. We warn that weed = eventual heroin abuse because people really don’t want their kids to get involved in a downward spiral of drug use, and are willing to do anything (even distort and lie) if they think it will stop that.
The caveat to my statement that use doesn’t equal abuse is simple. Use of marijuana doesn’t always equal abuse, nor does use of cocaine or LSD for example. Heroin on the other hand, well, heroin use very often will lead to abuse. Certain other highly addictive drugs often move the user quickly towards abuse, so it should be recognized that you can probably get away with occasional heroin use it isn’t something you want to try.
Some people would say yes. Thanks to programs like DARE my nieces became convinced that anyone who had a drink was in serious danger of becoming an alcoholic or getting killed in a car accident. I don’t ever remember a school discussion responsible use of alcohol they just focused on all the negatives. Same goes with drugs of course. It simply wasn’t possible to occasionally have a puff of marijuana without becoming a drug fiend.
Well one of the arguments that I heard about the whole situation is that if a drug is illegal then by definition, if one is using it, one is abusing it. I don’t particularly agree with that though, but it is fairly valid.
What bothers me is that programs at schools like DARE overreach and IMO when you tell someone that having one drink or a puff on a joint makes you an alcoholic, drug addict or loser makes things very difficult when the kid goes into the real world and discovers that that is not true. And then the insiduous creep begins. I have found, amongst my friends, that the ones who have come into doing drugs with the mindset that one line or one puff makes you an addict are the ones that usually become addicted because for them it becomes an all or nothing deal. It’s been so implanted in their brains that it’s impossible to use drugs responsibly that they think, well I’m already on the path to hell, may as well just get there quicker. The people that have done research and realise that it is possible to use without abusing are the ones that are usually alright. I know that anecdotal evidence is not usually supportive of an argument, but there are just no studies that cover this sort of thing.
biddee, my experience is somewhat different. I’ve found that DARE and similar programs lose all credibility because of overstating their case, so students end up actually worse off because they don’t take hard drugs seriously. After being told that marijuana is INSTANTLY ADDICTIVE and possible side effects include DEATH, and they get the exact same message about crack, heroin, LSD, shrooms, etc. Then, most people find out that pot is not instantly addictive nor deadly, so they think “well, all those things about the bad side effects of drugs are a lie.”
The same thing with “all illegal drug use is abuse” – it contradicts what happens in real life. Yes, there are pot smoking losers, but not everyone who touches the chronic instantly ruins their life. We need to help people make smart choices, not just try to scare them.
I drink coffee, usually two cups a day. Am I abusing it?
Imagine that coffee is outlawed tomorrow, but I continue using it, because I think the government is a pack of morons. Am I abusing it?
If so, then “drug abuse” stops having anything to do with health, and becomes a descriptor of one’s attitude toward the law. I don’t think that’s how most people use the term, though.
This is the understatement of the century! I do believe that when we try and scare young kids into not taking drugs or not having sex, is when we run into problems because as you said, when they actually do it and nothing really bad happens to them, then they keep doing it and the odds of something bad happening increase.
What do you think is the best way to educate our children about drug use so that they make intelligent choices? Also, I have a 15 month old daughter and I’m wondering what to tell her about my previous drug use when she is a teenager.
Tobacco, a technically legal drug, is being treated pretty much the same way today. Little distinction is made between the guy who chain smokes unfiltered Pall Malls all day and the guy who smokes three or four cigarettes at home after a day at work or indulges himself in a cigar or two when he’s out with the boys. So far as the–ahem–“authorities” are concerned, there’s just no such thing as moderate or light use of tobacco.
They never show the professional, or IT guys (I work there, so I speak to that one first), making a good income, responsible for a wife/husband and a flock of “fleshbabies”, who sneaks out behind the bar with a co-worker for a little puff. Or heads home, and has a J on the back porch.
I’m continually amazed by the number of smokers I run into in work situations. A little comment, one that wouldn’t be noticed by a non-smoker (pot), is often all it takes to figure out if someone else around “endulges.”
There are official numbers, and unofficial numbers. Those numbered in the unofficial lists don’t speak up to correct this, due to the stereotypes involved. A shame, as I’d much rather spark a joint, than get drunk.
But since drinking in public is legal (in bars, etc.), that’s what I do when I’m “out with the boys”.
I think that we need to give honest information, to start. We should caution our kinds about the real side effects and also the legal ramifications of using illegal drugs. This should be proportional to the danger, i.e. let’s try to keep kids off crack, heroin, and hard drugs much more than marijuana, which is pretty unfairly grouped in.
Well, my mom used drugs in college. We knew about it and she never really lied, though we never asked. We were pretty good kids though so it’s not as if we had to have “The Talk” about drugs after the schools were done with us.
Sincerity is important to children. If you used drugs and you regret it, that’s fine, but if you don’t regret it, it’s probably best to say “Well, you need to be careful, because illegal drugs can get you into legal trouble, and you don’t want to hurt your chances to succeed in life.” I’d wait until she’s much older, unless she’s particularly at risk; I just don’t see the need to go after, say, pre-middle school kids.
You know, I see so many families that have substance abuse issues, and I’ve been reading up a lot on it lately.
I don’t necessarily think that drug use automatically = drug abuse. That doesn’t mean I think it doesn’t, either. One problem that I’m seeing is when children/youth get all the lectures on the evils of drugs. They then try marijuana, and think it’s no big deal. And if marijuana’s no big deal, then the other stuff must not be a big deal either, which can lead to addictive and very harmful drugs.
I was at a training last Thursday about meth, and just seeing the ingredients that go into that mixture make me wonder why anyone would want to put those things into their body. It’s unreal. Not to mention the possibilities of fires and explosions due to the volatile chemicals used in the manufacture of meth.
I ramble, though. It’s just been a big eye-opener to me. I’m the kind of person who wouldn’t know how to buy illegal drugs if I even wanted to, and now seeing how drug abuse is destroying the lives of my clients, I don’t really have a whole lot of positives to say about it.