Sociological Approach To Drug Use

The sociological approach to drug use is a divergent approach than the typical approach many judicial and law enforcement officers take. These entities take an approach that holds the user of drugs front and center and places sole responsibility at the feet of the drug user – whether legal or illegal. I will be looking at the Nature Theory and how it compares to the other theories. First one needs to look at the historical context of drugs and their use to get a context for current theories. I was aware of much of the historical background of drugs and their legality and legitimacy but the first two units added to that knowledge. Drugs fall into differing categories based on historical context. Mind altering substances have been found through …show more content…
I felt most users were addicted to the drugs affects or the social atmosphere of drug use. There are so many theories about the biological – chemical-- addition but I had never heard of the Nature Theory of addiction. I connected with Adrew Weil's theory of our natural desire to seek out altered consciousnesses. I found the concept of early childhood risk taking and simple pleasures –chair spinning-- to be a desire for altered consciousness. He points out the long history in the majority of cultures to have created some form of fermented drink (Inciardi 2004). This leads him to the idea, “...People of all cultures are born with the desire to periodically alter their consciousness” (Inciardi 2004). I see risk taking behaviors in non-drug taking adults as validation of this …show more content…
Margee Kerr, talks about the natural functions that occur automatically when we face a fear or engage in risky behavior in Scream: Chilling Adventures in the Science of Fear (Kerr 2015). I feel that this risk taking, is the adult manifestation of those who do not go on to take drug and why some people go on to start taking drugs. I feel that many people might be filling the natural desire for a self-guided tour of their consciousness applies to so many areas of life (Inciardi 2004). Some seek it in the form of religious meditation, risk taking behaviors, or in using drugs. Drug users have the hardest acceptance in a society because drug use, especially illegal drug use, is deemed as deviant behavior and only because as a collective society we said so. Once a law is set against something an dis in place long enough, the original state of being is forgotten or glossed