Drug Use & Drug Abuse

Introduction

Drug use and abuse have a significant impact on American society; in particular, the use of illicit drugs and non-medical use of prescription drugs comes at a high social cost (Fields, 2009). The key concepts used to describe and measure the consumption of drugs and problems associated with such behavior are drug use, drug abuse and drug dependence. These concepts are frequently used in everyday life and mentioned in different publications. However, social and formal meanings ascribed to these concepts are different and the boundaries between these meanings are very ambiguous. Although many sources devoted to studying drug use and abuse mention these concepts, few sources define these concepts and the differences between them. At the same time, it is essential to understand the characteristics associated with the definitions of “drug use”, “drug abuse” and “drug dependence” as well as the behaviors and expectations associated with these concepts. In this research, the above-mentioned concepts will be studied from the perspective of symbolic interactionism.

The role of researching these social concepts and determining the boundaries of the target definitions is very important for any research devoted to drug use and abuse. This question is especially important for social sciences, because the works devoted to drug use and abuse in these sciences deal not with precise pharmacological definitions, but rather with the definitions and meanings ascribed to these concepts by different social groups. It is not possible to study these phenomena without exploring the meanings and definitions of the key concepts.

This paper is organized as follows: literature review (analysis of literature, consideration of different definitions and characteristics pertaining to the target concepts, roles and behaviors related to the concepts), discussion (analysis of these concepts from the perspective of symbolic interactionism, identifying the boundaries of these concepts and key factors employed in shaping these boundaries) and conclusion.

Literature Review

History and mechanisms of drug consumption

Drugs were used for altering conscious states of human beings and alleviating pain since the ancient ages (DuPont, 2010). Drugs were used to heal, to poison, to cause ecstatic states, etc. Most drugs either imitate or interrupt the processes of brain neurotransmission and alter brain communications. Furthermore, the interaction of drugs with brain communications is the major purpose of illicit or non-medical drug use.

While some 40 years ago the society was more tolerant to drug use, currently there is a tendency to control and limit the use of drugs (Fields, 2009). Such change of social attitudes and tendencies is caused by the social costs and consequences; some of these include drug-related crime and violence, high costs of recovering from drug dependence, increased occurrences of sexually transmitted diseases, domestic violence and abuse, street fights, increased number of crashes of motor vehicles, etc (Goode, 2007).

Social factors and theories pertaining to drug consumption

There are different factors shaping the prevalence of drug consumption. According to Arkes & Iguchi (2008), such factors as gender, marital status and race/ethnicity have an influence on the patterns of non-medical use of prescription drugs. Aside from the predictive value of these factors, such findings also indicate that the perception and attitudes of non-medical use of prescription drugs are different for different social groups, so subjective interpretation of the terms “drug use”, “drug abuse” and “drug dependence” has a direct impact on the probability of illegal drug consumption and illegal consumption of prescription drugs. These conclusions are aligned with the theoretical findings of Anderson (1998) which indicate that drug abuse might be happening due to the change of drug-related identities, due to personal identification with a social group using drugs and social marginalization.

Similar views are outlined by Benoit (2004) in the description of the anomie perspective of drug use in the society. According to this perspective, those people who use illicit drugs or use prescription drugs for non-medical purposes include such subjective categories as escapists, opportunists, sufferers, drifters, confused or stressed individuals, lost individuals or retreatists (Benoit, 2004). To a large extent, the context of drug use and abuse is determined by the social environment; in particular, such social factors as familial patterns and structure, social support and social networks, neighborhood and community environments have a direct impact on the individual disposition towards drug consumption (Thomas, 2007).

Discussion

Definitive boundaries of drug use, drug abuse and drug dependence

In some sources, the concept of “drug use” is described as the occasional use of illicit drugs, characterized by the low frequency of use, experimentation with such drugs or irregular use (e.g. Guydish, 2009). The notion of drug use is characterized by non-compulsive drug consumption and the ability to withdraw from further drug use (i.e. the absence of physiological dependence). Furthermore, the persons who “use” drugs (as opposed to “abuse” and “dependence”) typically have no psychopathological factors pushing them to use drugs, and drugs have not become an important feature of their lifestyle.

Another social interpretation of the term “drug use” is the intake of legal drugs for medical purposes (Changeux, 1998). Such drugs are prescribed by a doctor and are used for special purposes such as curing an ailment, reducing pain, etc. In this context, the intake of drugs is also limited and the amount of drugs used is within the safe boundaries for a particular person. This is a second perspective of interpreting the term “drug use”. It is important to distinguish between these perspectives while conducting any drug-related research.

“Drug abuse” term is most frequently used to denote people who use illicit drugs in a regular way or use illicit drugs compulsively. For such people, the use of drugs is a notable component of their lifestyle which has a defining impact on their life, well-being and health. Furthermore, such people are likely to use drugs due to various psychopathological reasons.

A common definition of “drug dependence” is outlined by Anderson (1998) and includes four key characteristics: “a pattern of regular and heavy use over a significant period of time”, “a set of drug-related problems (at work, or with interpersonal relationships, one’s own health, and formal social control agencies)”, “previous and failed attempts to terminate drug consumption” and “self-awareness as having a drug problem”.

Analysis of the target concepts from the perspective of symbolic interactionism

A review of major definitions used in the current literature devoted to drug use and abuse shows that there are two different perspectives. One approach is to view both drug use and drug abuse as the intake of illicit drugs or prescription drugs for non-medical use, with the emphasis on the frequency of drug consumption and physiological need for drug consumption. From the second perspective, “drug use” means legal drug intake, while “drug abuse” and “drug dependence” denote illegal drug consumption. This perspective is more reasonable from the perspective of symbolic interactionism, since the words “abuse” and “addiction” both have a negative connotation, while the word combination “drug use” is ambiguous and does not carry symbols indicating that something illegal is taking place (Reynolds, 2003).

In the context of the second perspective, drug abuse is perceived as the intake of illicit drugs, even irregular and/or occasional. Another way to define “drug abuse” in this context is the use of drugs outside of medical context, which means that drugs can only be used by the permission of a physician and for medical purposes only (Goode, 2007). Therefore, from this viewpoint, the definition of “drug abuse” is similar to “drug use” as outlined in the first perspective. This is a stricter view, but it is supported by many sources dealing with the concepts of drug use and abuse (Goode, 2007).

Furthermore, in the context of the second perspective of interpreting “drug abuse”, “drug dependence” means almost the same as “drug abuse” means in the context of the first perspective. “Drug dependence” is defined as the physical or psychological need for taking drugs (Goode, 2007). The behaviors associated with drug dependence are swings of mood, poor family relationships and the break of friendships, problems at work and/or in school, legal issues and overall impairment of social activity and functionality (Goode, 2007).

Importance of findings and implications

The findings of this research show that there exist two approaches to determining the boundaries between the concepts of “drug use”, “drug abuse” and “drug dependence”. The second approach utilizes all three concepts, while the first approach relates mostly to the terms “drug use” and “drug abuse”. From the perspective of symbolic interactionism, the second approach is more relevant because it is based on the subjective symbols associated with the terms (Turner, 2006). This approach was selected as the central concept of this research.

The boundaries between the target definitions are drawn with the help of: a) the use of positive and negative connotations (“drug use” versus “drug abuse” and “drug dependence”) and b) the frequency of drug consumption, the urge for drug consumption and the presence of psychopathological reactions. These results are important for all further papers dealing with drug consumption because they provide more precise understanding of the key terms, which is also aligned with the intuitive perceptions adopted in the society. It is recommended to consider each of these three concepts in the future research.

Conclusion

The analysis of the definitions of “drug use”, “drug abuse” and “drug dependence” from the perspective of symbolic interactionism shows that there are two distinct approaches to defining these concepts. The first approach utilizes the first two terms and connects each of the to the illegal consumption of drugs, while the second approach associated the first term with legal drug intake, while the latter two terms are symbolically linked to illegal drug consumption. The second approach is selected as the central approach because it matches the symbolic meanings ascribed to the terms “abuse” and “dependence” as opposed to the neutral word “use”.

The definitive boundaries between “drug dependence”, “drug abuse” and “drug use” are formed by the use of positive and negative connotations, the frequency of drug consumption, the urge for drug consumption and the presence of psychopathological reactions. The roles, behaviors and expectations associated with these concepts are: ordinary reactions and behaviors for “drug use” (the only distinguishing feature for such people is the intake of drugs for medical use according to the prescription); infrequent/occasional consumption of illicit drugs (or non-medical use of prescription drugs) which does not significantly affect the lifestyle and reactions of an individual in the case of “drug abuse”, and frequent consumption of illicit drugs (or non-medical use of prescription drugs) accompanied by significant social impairments, lifestyle changes and attempts to quit using drugs for “drug dependence”. These definitions have precise boundaries and coincide with the general perceptions of these terms in the society; therefore, these concepts are recommended for use in further researches pertaining to drug consumption.

 

References

Anderson, T.L. (1998). A cultural-identity theory of drug abuse. Sociology of Crime, Law and Deviance, 1, 233-262.

Arkes, J., & Iguchi, M. Y. (2008). How predictors of prescription drug abuse vary by age. Journal of Drug Issues, 38(4), 1027-1043.

Benoit, E. (2004). Substance use and abuse: Sociological perspectives. Contemporary Sociology, 33(2), 257-259.

Changeux, J. (1998). Drug use and abuse. Daedalus, 127(2), 145-165.

DuPont, R. L. (2010). Prescription drug abuse: An epidemic dilemma. Journal of Psychoactive Drugs, 42(2), 127-32.

Fields, R. (2009). Drugs in Perspective. McGraw-Hill Education.

Goode, E. (2007). Drugs in American Society. McGraw-Hill.

Guydish, J. R. (2009). Drug abuse research: today and tomorrow. Journal of Drug Issues, 39(1), 227-230.

Pascale, C.M. (2011). Cartographies of Knowledge: Exploring Qualitative Epistemologies. SAGE Publications.

Reynolds, L.T. (2003). Handbook of Symbolic Interactionism. Rowman Altamira.

Thomas, Y.F. (2007). The social epidemiology of drug abuse. American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 32(6), S141-S146.

Turner, J.H. (2006). Handbook of Sociological Theory. Springer.

The terms offer and acceptance. (2016, May 17). Retrieved from

[Accessed: March 29, 2024]

"The terms offer and acceptance." freeessays.club, 17 May 2016.

[Accessed: March 29, 2024]

freeessays.club (2016) The terms offer and acceptance [Online].
Available at:

[Accessed: March 29, 2024]

"The terms offer and acceptance." freeessays.club, 17 May 2016

[Accessed: March 29, 2024]

"The terms offer and acceptance." freeessays.club, 17 May 2016

[Accessed: March 29, 2024]

"The terms offer and acceptance." freeessays.club, 17 May 2016

[Accessed: March 29, 2024]

"The terms offer and acceptance." freeessays.club, 17 May 2016

[Accessed: March 29, 2024]
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