Drug Abuse
Drug abuse is a social challenge due to significant social and economic expectations amid the substantial modernization in contemporary societies. In many parts of the world, the drug is regarded as a cultural lag with the phase of conflicting values. In the process of cultural evolution, the popular social order possesses a negative attitude towards drug abuse, contrary to its current value system (Lambert, Scheiner & Campbell, 2010). There is a lack of alignment between traditional moral guidelines and the world perception held by many people. For instance, there is a link between drug abuse and crime, thus attracting the community’s wrath on popular abused drugs. Society interprets the crime as motivated by reduced personal inhibitions. The form of crime an individual is likely to engage can be extensive and subject to many factors, but the consensus is a drug user is highly likely to commit than non-user.
The current solutions on drug abuse are not adequate, but it is an abuse of the privacy of individuals. The existing solutions tend to treat drug abuse and addiction as a crime that deserves harsh punishment instead of rehabilitation. A drug addict is expected to go through the hands of the criminal justice system where no privacy is guaranteed. The drug user is exposed to society as a caution to others on engaging in toxic behavior. The problem is the objective of contemporary criminal justice on preventing instead of rehabilitating. It turns to be an explanation of why too many people are detained for drug abuse in large numbers, but drug use in American society persists (Stevens, 2011). It concludes that the current situation doesn’t care about minimizing the issue through confidential rehabilitation instead of exposing the individual before the law.
Lambert, B., Scheiner, M., & Campbell, D. (2010). Ethical issues and addiction. Journal of Addictive Diseases, 29(2), 164-174.
Stevens, A. (2011). Drug policy, harm, and human rights: A rationalist approach. International Journal of Drug Policy, 22(3), 233-238.