...Baltimore: A Community in Crisis Since the 19th century, the illicit drug, heroin, has been a part of American society. When heroin was first discovered it was thought to be a wonder drug because of the euphoric feeling a person is said to feel after using it. However, once the debilitating effects of this highly addictive drug was realized the anti-drug law, the Harrison Narcotics Act, was enacted that restricted its use to medicinal purposes only. In 1920, heroin was banned altogether through the Dangerous Drug Act (Habal, 2011). Heroin for the most part was thought to have gone underground until the Vietnam War. In 1971, two congressmen returned from visiting U. S. servicemen serving in Vietnam with an alarming revelation that “15 percent of U.S. servicemen in Vietnam… were actively addicted to heroin” (Spiegel, 2012, para. 3). The idea that American servicemen were addicted to such a horrible drug disgusted much of the American public. “It was thought to be the most addictive substance ever produced, a narcotic so powerful that once addiction claimed you, it was nearly impossible to escape” (Spiegel, 2012, para. 4). President Richard Nixon took swift action by creating, The Special Action Office of Drug Abuse Prevention which concentrated primarily on prevention and rehabilitation. In the late 70s and early 80s the use of heroin reached its peak when it seemed to take a backseat to the reappearance of cocaine and the subsequent crack epidemic that overwhelmed much...
Words: 3488 - Pages: 14
...Heroin Abuse: Reaching to the Suburban Youth The best driving force to get informed and motivated about a certain topic is a personal experience and my motivation came when one of my best friends passed away from a heroin overdose. Almost exactly a year ago, this friend of mine passed away from a heroin overdose and none of his close friends or family even knew the problem had escalated so greatly. It had all started with a pill addiction to xanax that slowly grew more severe but with a few interventions and a couple of trips to rehab, most of us thought that he was doing well and had kicked the habit. Little did we know that he had kicked the xanax habit only to graduate to something as intense as heroin. The frightening thing about this drug is that my friend was a small, upper class, Jewish boy from the suburbs of St. Louis and would not typically be the image you think of when a person might think of a heroin addict. He was the furthest thing from an underprivileged, poor, inner city adult. But addict hew was, and it is still somewhat of a mystery to those who were closest to him as to how he was able to access his drugs. For every person that believes they know the true meaning of the word “addiction,” there is another person right beside them to argue a different point of view. In this day and age, one would think that doctors or scientists or psychologists would have narrowed it down to a universal description but this is not the case. There are many different...
Words: 1740 - Pages: 7
...Drug Addiction Leah Richards PSY326: Research Methods Maleka Hillsman August 27, 2012 The topic that caught my attention when I was reading my choices was “Drug Addiction”. Drug addiction is something that should not be taken lightly by anyone who has a family member or friend with this issue. We often wonder how and what make people turn into being a drug addict. “Drug addiction is rooted in long-term adaptations within the brain that promotes escalating drug use, difficulty quitting, and relapse—all despite the awareness of negative consequences.” With that being said I have always wondered what keep a person going back to their addiction and why can’t they quit. When I read the article and it mention how drug addiction is rooted a light bulb clicked in my head. When something is rooted inside of you whether it is for good or bad it is hard to break. “It was previously hypothesized that addiction was caused in part of an imbalance between an impulsive system that governs appetitive motivation and is driven by immediate rewards on the one hand and a reflective system that regulate and control impulsive according to future pleasurable or aversive consequences.” With this study they were able to predict the hypothesis and see what causes addiction to happen in some cases. I think that the method used in order to see how people become an addict was efficient and it was very precise that made the validity of the experiment a success. It is important to...
Words: 2669 - Pages: 11
... The Effects of Methadone Treatment on Opiate and Heroin Dependency Since the early times, opiates, heroin, and other drugs have been used in providing analgesia as well as substitutes to reach a place of euphoria. Originally, as Yurgelum-Todd et al (2009) has noted, derived from the opium poppy, heroin has been used as an alternative to morphine in dealing with addiction (Yurgelum-Todd, p. 175, 2009). Unfortunately, over the years it has consistently become prevalent that heroin has more negative aspects than anything; heroin is highly addictive, resulting in consequences such as overdoses, infections, violence and crime, deficits in memory, learning, and attention. The need to relieve pain by use of heroin and other drugs, though, results in opioid dependence, estimated to affect more than one million persons in North America alone (Oviedo-Joekes, p. 778, 2009). To relieve opiate dependence, researchers experimented with an opiate-agonist called methadone; the standard opioid-susbstitution treatment, to help reduce withdrawals and other negative consequences surrounding the use of drugs like heroin by producing a phenomenon called the “blocking-dose”, which blocks opiate receptors (Oviedo-Joekes, p. 778, 2009). Methadone was, in fact, the “first opiate agonist used in the pharmacotherapy of heroin addiction. Methadone is the best studied drug, but also the most controversial”(Maremmani, p. 7, 2008). This paper will discuss different research methods used to analyze...
Words: 2764 - Pages: 12
...Phobias and Addictions Paper PSY/300 Conferring to Kowalski & Westen (2011) “The concept that learning is adaptive and shapes behavior, forms the fundamental concepts of the behaviorist perspective.” These conceptions may be acknowledged as operant, classical, and associative learning. These approaches are suggested to be similar, but they have contrasting steps towards how behavior can be educated. These approaches are frequently known as classical learning, operant learning, and associative learning. These approaches may sound similar, but they have slightly differentiated steps towards how behavior can be learned. Operant and classical learning styles can help a person stay positive within a society. Two concepts are known worldwide to also have negative impacts on a person’s emotional and physical state, phobias and addictions. Feeling uncomfortable, or feeling fear about something, may mean you may bear a phobia. Conferring to Merriam-Webster (2013) “Phobia is defined as an exaggerated usually inexplicable and illogical fear of a particular object, class of objects, or situation.” During the beginning of a life phobias may not be present, but they may be learned throughout a period of time. A stimulus can be joined together with an opposing stimulus that can change the original response, this can happen when looking at phobias with classical conditioning. An example of this can be...
Words: 1023 - Pages: 5
...Drug Addiction Crime or Disease? Interim and Final Reports of the Joint Committee of the American Bar Association and the American Medical Association on Narcotic Drugs. INTERIM REPORT For the last half-century public authorities in the United States have been wrestling with the problem of controlling addiction to narcotic drugs. Since the twenties, legislation and enforcement policies have aimed at total repression, with criminal sanctions of notable severity attaching to every transaction connected with the non-medical use of drugs. Drug-law enforcement has become a major police activity of federal, state and local governments; the threat of long imprisonment, even of death penalties, hangs over not only the smuggler and the peddler, but the addict-victim of the illicit traffic. Addiction to narcotic substances has been recognized as a health problem for a long time and in many different countries. It has also in our times and in our national community, emerged as a criminal law problem of distressing magnitude and persistency. The fields of medicine and law are thus equally affected, and the Joint Committee which offers this report has undertaken its assignment with enthusiasm at the prospect of uniting its parent organizations in a common effort centered in an area where the concerns of each overlap and largely coincide. If the Joint Committee can contribute something towards mutual enlightenment and ultimate agreement between the medical and legal professions regarding...
Words: 5083 - Pages: 21
...1 Name of author: Mothering through Addiction Drug addiction and alcohol addiction seem to be increasing day by day all over the world. People losing the control of their life when they face stress related to family, society or workplace. The commitments of the modern generation are more than that of the ancient generation and failure to fulfil the commitments often results in some kind of addiction. Addiction and mental diseases are common both among the males and females. But the female addiction seems to be more severe than the male addiction considering the variety of roles females needed to exercise in the family and society. Among females, the addiction of mothers seems to be most dangerous to the society. "Mothers who are addicted to crack is a long debated topic that can be argued well on both sides. One side can argue that Mothers who have an addiction problem to drugs should not be allowed to have legal rights to their children and should have their children in child protective services. Most people view these mothers as unfit and harmful to the children's safety. On the other hand mothers who are addicted to crack and other drugs depend on motherhood to rehabilitate and find a cure to their addiction. Mothers who are addicted view hope in their lives because their children give them a purpose to get better. However, once the children are taken away from the mothers many times the addiction becomes worse and more intense. The emotional attachment...
Words: 1977 - Pages: 8
...Drug addiction is most often defined as a chronically relapsing disorder in which the addict experiences uncontrollable compulsion to take drugs, while simultaneously the repertoire of behaviors not related to drug seeking, taking, and recovery, declines dramatically."(1) Recent scientific research has shown significant causal relationships between drug addiction and genetic predisposition as well as between addiction and environmental factors. Both genetics and the environment influence the brain, which in turn effects the behavior of usage. Once an individual begins using psychotropic substances, such as cocaine or heroin, measurable changes in brain chemistry and physiology perpetuate the cycle of addiction. Thus, we have an example of brain affecting behavior, which in turn, affects the brain. This cycle is particularly extreme and insular in the situation of drug addiction where free will and decision making are quickly and severely impaired. In this paper, we will first explore the genetic and environmental theories on drug addiction. We will then investigate how the behavior of drug addiction changes the brain to perpetuate the circle of cause and effect between the brain and behavior. Genetic Influences on the Behavior of Drug Addiction: Addiction does not result from a single gene. However, multiple genetic trends have been identified as crucial contributors to the illness of addiction. Alcoholics and cocaine addicts often express the A1 allele of the dopamine receptor...
Words: 1137 - Pages: 5
...authors Phillipe Bourgois and Jeff Schonberg examine the world of the Edgewater homeless community, an indigent group that established an encampment beside a freeway near San Francisco, California. While it is evident throughout the book that the main characters have unique lived experiences, it remains clear that they all share one major struggle: substance abuse. The authors provide an in-depth exploration of the everyday lives of the Edgewater homeless community, depicting some of the gruesome realities that are associated with heroin addiction. Throughout the book, the authors highlight the intersectionality of homelessness, substance abuse, poverty, race, class, gender,...
Words: 1069 - Pages: 5
...Ryan Cassity Professor Jeffries ENGL 012, Paper 2 March 24, 2015 Survival of the Fittest Life is hard and often times filled with tough challenges and difficult situations. In the past, African Americans were subjected to the tortures of slavery and isolation from mainstream America during the 18th and 19th centuries. Meanwhile, the harsh reality of life faced by African Americans is seen today with an increase in homeless people living on the streets. While some people look down on people they consider undesirable or inferior, one aspect of a person’s character that can never be questioned is their will to survive. Furthermore, survival in life requires a “never quit, never die” mentality that enables a person to keep fighting to realize a dream. “I, Too” and “Crusader Rabbit” suggest that survival requires courage, desire, and faith. In the poem “I, Too,” Langston Hughes portrays a black man bound into slavery who knows deep down in his heart that he “too” is part of America and is entitled to all the rights and freedoms that America itself stands for and represents. While held captive as a servant, the black man displays courage through his refusal to be recognized as an inferior human being. As Hughes notes, “I am the darker brother. They send me to eat in the kitchen When company comes, But I laugh, And eat well, And grow strong” (Hughes 2-7). The black man will not allow ignorance and neglect to destroy his pride. The black man’s mindset and spirit...
Words: 918 - Pages: 4
...Drugs A Term Paper Presented to: Mrs. Nora H. Cubal Mati School of Arts and Trades City of Mati, Davao Oriental In Partial Fulfillment Of the Requirements in English IV Presented by: Niño F. Sugaan IV-Zamora S.Y. 2012-2013 Table of Contents I- Introduction A. Statement of the Problem B. Significance of the Study C. Definition of Terms II- Discussion A. What is Drugs? B. Reasons why there are drug addicts C. How drug affects the personality of the user D. Drug addiction treatment III- Summary IV- Suggestion V- Bibliography Acknowledgements First of all I would like to acknowledge to my parents , teachers and classmates for their support and cooperation which help me in completion with this project and I would like to express my special gratitude to the industry for giving me such attention and time. My thanks and appreciation also go to my colleague in developing the project and people who have willingly helped me out with the use of their abilities I- Introduction A drug is a substance which may have medicinal, intoxicating, performance enhancing or other effects when taken or put into a human body or the body of another animal and is not considered a food or exclusively a food. What is considered a drug rather than a food varies between cultures, and distinctions between drugs and foods and between kinds of drug are enshrined...
Words: 2225 - Pages: 9
...“Should Pregnant Woman Be Punished For Exposing Her Fetus To Risk” Chandra Beasley Keller Graduate School of Management HSM542 September 16, 2014 Michelle Gomillion “Should A Pregnant Woman Be Punished For Exposing Her Fetus To Risk” When a woman becomes pregnant, it is very important for her to lead a healthy life to eat plenty of nourishing food, get plenty of rest, and exercise regularly. It is also vital that she avoid anything that might harm her or her baby-to-be. For a pregnant woman, drug abuse is doubly dangerous. According to (daily news, 2010) one hundred babies are born with drug withdrawal symptoms every month. Some drugs can directly impair prenatal development, most of the body organs and systems of the baby-to-be are formed within the first ten weeks or so of pregnancy during this stage. After about the tenth week, the fetus should grow rapidly in weight and size. At this stage, certain drugs may damage organs that are still developing, such as the eyes, as well as the nervous system. Continuing drug use also increases the risk of miscarriage and premature delivery. But the greatest danger drugs pose at this stage is their potential to interfere with normal growth “low-birth weight babies require special care and run a much higher risk of severe health problems or even death”. (Murphy, 1998) The cases of women who are charged and convicted of child abuse even before they are born reflect an interesting intersection between the conservative War on...
Words: 890 - Pages: 4
...March 2, 2016 Position Paper: Should society view addiction as a disease? Drug addiction is a significant problem in today’s society yet it also seems to be debatable as to whether society should view drug addiction as a disease or choice. Drug addiction continues to grow and affects a diverse population which includes much younger age groups. It must be noted that drug addiction is a voluntary choice; whereas disease is not, despite whether a disease is deemed mental and/or physical in nature. Frankly, whether society views addiction as a disease or choice, it is a problem and a controversial issue. The definition of drug addiction, according the Merriam-Webster’s dictionary is: “the quality or state of being addicted <addiction to reading>, compulsive need for and use of a habit-forming substance (as heroin, nicotine, or alcohol) characterized by tolerance and by well-defined physiological symptoms upon withdrawal; broadly: persistent compulsive use of a substance known by the user to be harmful.”(“Addiction” n.d.) Numerous government and other science researchers continue to study drug addiction while addressing whether addiction is a choice or a disease. There is significantly more information that states addiction is a choice. Drug addiction may be the underlying cause of a disease. However, despite whether addiction may result in disease, addiction is a choice and it is a subject of major study and may reflect how addiction is viewed. “Scientifically...
Words: 800 - Pages: 4
...$2.00 (paper). Reviewed by L. L. LANGNESS University o f California This volume grew out of a series of Staff Seminars on Social Change and Human Behavior held at the National Institute of Mental Health during 1970. The ten papers that comprise the collection are almost uniformally both interesting and worthwhile, but they do not, together, make up a particularly coherent or useful book. Papers by Jerome S. Bruner (“The Uses of Immaturity”) and Sherwood L. Washburn (“Aggressive Behavior and Human Evolution”) have the evolution of behavior as their major theme. Alan Lomax contributed a paper on cultural evolution (“The Evolution of Culture and Expressive Style: A Comparative Approach to Social Change”). Robert J. Lifton’s effort (“Psychological Man in Revolution: The Struggle for Communal Resymbolization”) deals with the “breakdown of certain communal symbols that have sustained human societies up t o now” and the dangers inherent in a mental health model that depends upon the assumption of social stability. In his essay (“Cognitive Control of Perceptual Processes”), Herbert A. Simon deals with recent research on “the magical number seven” which takes him into memory, mental imagery, information-processing, cognition, and emotion. W. Cody Wilson (“The American Experience with Pornography”) describes the problems encountered by the U.S. Commission on Obscenity and Pornography as an example in changing public policy. Similarly, Lorrin M. Koran (“American Responses to Heroin Addiction...
Words: 1371 - Pages: 6
...As one prescription drug abuser in his early 20’s explained: Once people (pill brokers) know you take them prescription opioids, they’ll start calling you. “Oh, it’s this time of the month.” Then they wait for that person to get their script. They know exactly in their head what day the script’s getting ready to come so they got the patterns down. Pill brokers and dealers reported congregating in open air drug markets typically strip mall and pharmacy parking lots, and outside methadone clinics to buy, sell, and trade prescription drugs. These markets were reported to involve a variety of transactions, including the purchase of prescription drugs for cash, as well as trades for crack and heroin. Pill brokers also reported the purchase of used fentanyl patches from nurses who have stolen them from pain patients or from disposal containers in hospitals. Some individuals frequenting the drug markets also barter their oxycodone for other opioids or benzodiazepines, typically alprazolam. Doctor Shopping focus group participants indicated that even in a small state like Delaware, doctor shopping appeared to be fairly easy. The vast majority of abusers reported obtaining medications through doctor shopping, and most reported frequenting at least four physicians in order to obtain sufficient amounts of their desired medications. Occasionally clinics and hospital emergency rooms were reported as locations for doctor shopping as well. A heavy user stated: Another focus group member...
Words: 3476 - Pages: 14
