I was wondering why people tend to diffuse the responsibility for thier drug addictions to the culture they grew up in.
Is it not the change in they way that sensory information from the environment is processed, that is the most consistent and pleasurable aspect of a drug and hence, the reason for continued use?
Would people consistintly purchase drugs that cause pain? I think not. Unless that form of pain is sought(masochists ect.)
I think people who blame the culture/area in which they grew up, for they’re addiction to drugs, facilitate a kind of self fufilling prophecy through which they substantiate the behaviour as optimal, given the circumstance.
In particular, i’ve seen myself smoke a joint because i had nothing to do and after the joint, i wan’t to do nothing.
They do it because drug addiction is looked upon, at least by alot of the mainstream, as a moral failing. No one wants to be a moral failure. Really it’s a disease, just like cancer, or AIDS. They should be treated, not outcast.
The irony that you see in a misreable addict blaiming society for his misery and not his addiction is a footnote compared to the fact that the miserable life of an addict is evidently better thana mindless penniless factory worker…
People largely use drugs as a means to escape from society. it’s possible that if they didn;tuse drugs they might accomplish something, but that would be betting against the odds.
I dont agree that drug addicton is a disease, it’s a choice. Every day the drug addict has to work hard to find thier drugs and focus alot of mental effort on it.
Cancer is out of your control , drug addiction is a poduct of that control.
Some scientists think they have found the “gene” for addiction. I wouldn’t be surprised. One thing that is common amongst addicts is transfer of addiction. If they quit drinking, they’ll start smoking weed. If they stop smoking weed, they’ll start spending out of control. To me, this shows that it’s more of a personality trait, perhaps caused genetically, than anything.
In addition, I’d assume children of parents who are addicts will have a higher chance of doing drugs, even if they never knew their parents did drugs.
addiction is the cumulative effect of a certain substance on your body which changes you internally to a state where you intensely desire whatever it is you’re addicted to.
Maybe they found the indulgence gene, but an addiction gene is alittle far fetched…
I agree with d0rky on this; there likely is a genetic component linked to compulsive behavior(s). I have seen firsthand that alcoholism runs in families, and yes, that’s unscientific and anecdotal, but there have been studies that support an association between the dopamine receptor gene and a predilection for alcoholism.
But even if there is a proven genetic marker, genes only dictate possible risk, not certain destiny. So in a way, I agree with Trevor that it’s ultimately a choice. It’s just that some have to fight harder to make the right choice than others do.
Calling it a disease is a load of bullshit baring true psychological disorder and then it should be called a psychiatric condition. Though I don’t believe that for every addict its a simple ‘choice’ especially since it seems like people prone to mental illness are prone to drug-use, and thats not touching upon the genetic predispositions that some people may have, or worse yet, real medical conditions in which parts of their brain may be over-active or under-active creating unusual addictive behavior, they shouldn’t be called ‘diseased’ except for clear cut cases where the behavior is actually caused by a disease.
Drug addiction seems like a kind of search for consistency in change. Drugs always do more or less the same thing. But mixing drugs obviously has the synergistic effects that are sometimes unpredictable.
Culture and the individual’s social environment are powerful contexts for the development of perspectives and morals.
People are no solely to blame for their actions because every action has a context and explaination. Drug taking is not entirely a choice - it’s ingrained into certain cultures. People simply find themselves drawn into some cultures and some people succumb to them.
Where I live there is a powerful drink culture. People assumed about me for years that once I was old enough, I was going to drink day and night like them - they shoved ciggies my way assuming I smoked, and I got a lot of social flack because I didn’t smoke or drink. I know some of my friends - nearly all of them - simply went with the flow and ended up smokers, drinkers and teenage parents.
Rational choice does not explain behaviour alone - humans are social creatures and we learn everything we know in our immediate social and cultural contexts. It’s a mix of “cultural definitions,” cultural and social mores and norms, personal temprement (conformist personality, for example), as well as intelligence and opportunities for education and training. If someone is intelligent, has a cautious temprement and personality, and has access to good education, they are likely to make the choice not to join in with the powerful forces in their social environment - in my case, it was drinking, smoking and casual unprotected sex. Cue a culture flooded with violence, alcohol-related physical and mental illness, young single mothers and sexually transmitted infections. Not a culture I’m joining in with.
I agree that sticking a needle in your arm is indeed a rational choice - but what informs the person’s logic? How intelligent are they? What have they learned to be truisms? What are their aims? What was their aim at the beginning?
EDIT - remember, drug addiction is an addiction, not a choice. Choosing to take drugs in the first place, that is what this post is about. Once you pop you can’t stop - so drug addicts can be easily understood as having a biological need for their stimulant of choice, because they’re addicted to it. It’s why in the first place they turned to drugs that needs addressing.
Well, they may very well get very excited. And they may very well “end” their disease, if by that you mean signing on a dotted line or something. And then they get their billion dollars. And the next day they and a load of their most intimate friends may well be dead (or very, very, very, very happy). If addictions councelling isn’t built into the billion dollar bribe, money isn’t going to buy their health.
I’ve been lucky enough to come across people who were drug-addicts, but not wangst about it.
Jeremiah for example, big druggy, but doesn’t blame other people. He likes drugs, therefore he does them. With little regard for his own health or the example he’s setting. And he’s generally less of a douchebag then my other friends. It’s a feat in itself we even are friends as he’s pro-choice. So obviously he’s proven himself to be a good friend if I tolerate that. (For now…)
Drug addiction could be linked to psychological needs or faults. But generally drug addicts are only as bad as the people themselves. Drugs can’t make you bad, they can only enhance the bad qualities you already posessed.
I think that depends on the drug and the person. I’m sure there is plenty of anecdotal evidence that would suggest otherwise.
I will certainly remain open-minded as to whether or not there is a specific gene that causes one to live in excess, whether it be eating, smoking, drinking, drug-use, etc., or whether such addictions are actually caused by underlying mental illness. Either way, I think excessive drug use in many cases is genetic, whether it be genetic mental illness or a genetic addiction gene.
Drugs can make you ‘bad’ in a way that you’d never be without the addiction. Thats like saying ‘situations don’t create bad people they just exist’;\
Say, if i was addicted to meth/heroine, that kind of addiction/craving (which I don’t have for another substance) may drive me to actions, that I would never think of commiting without a massive biological addiction to heroine or some such.
I might not shoot someone for it, but i’d probably do things i wouldn’t even consider possible right now.
Such an addiction might just make you broke and beg people relentlessly for money. I’ve seen it time and again on Intervention on A&E. And I doubt most of those people would ever beg for money the way they do when hooked on these drugs.
True, but the fact that you did meth/heroine was proof you were capable of putting yourself in a position to change into such a desperate perp like that in the future.
Drug addicts cannot claim ignorance, everybody knows the ill effects of such hard drugs but do them anyway. So I don’t blame the drugs, I blame the people. Which is why I don’t believe in punishing the dealers, or even barring drug trade. If you want to strike at the source, you strike at the consumer. Drugs, as all things, need a demand before a supply can be provided.
And I’m not talking prison. Prison doesn’t punish anyone but the taxpayer. Granted sense drug addiction is so terrible physicaly and mentally, prison could be a good punishment if carried out properly.
A dinky, unregulated prison, where they’re hosed down and fed grool. They’re left outside all day to get sunburn and beatup by the other prisoners. And go through withdrawl. Maybe then they’ll learn not to be stupid.
I don’t want to punish them for doing drugs. But I do want to punish them for the crimes they carryout blaming their drug addiction. And stupidity might be too abstract to make directly into a crime, but we can damn sure try…
I can’t say I don’t feel a little good seeing how pathetic people become as drug addicts. They were the idiots who turned to drugs in the first place. I’d actually be willing to pay a drug addict to be my slave.
He gets his drugs, I get borderline free labor. This really isn’t far from what happens now. Prostitution is closely linked to the drug market. Them whores are probably there cause they can’t hold a real job and need the money for smack. I don’t feel sorry for them having to degrade themselves and be seen as a sex object.
Hell, I’d be hesitant to even get near a drug addict for precisely those reasons. They can labor that doesn’t involve them actually coming into contact with me. Like mowing my yard and beating the crap out of other people for me. Amuse me druggy!
I see most of us in the state of panic, acting out of fear.
In case of drug addicts, that’s visible to us.
They fear the sensation that comes when the effects of drug fade away. They can’t ignore it.
Although depending on the type and the degree of addiction, I don’t think they have much control.
But we aren’t so different.
We are just not very aware that we fear many things and doing strange things (like religon, war, power games, etc) just to forget about the uneasy sensation.