Kornblum And Seccombe's Social Problems

Drug abuse often indicate patterns. In the book, Social Problems, there are several graphs depicting trends among individuals who use drugs. The first table shows the percentage of those who have ever used drugs and if the individual has used the drug in the past month (Kornblum and Seccombe, 2017). Alcohol, 66% and Marijuana, 44% are at the top of the list of those who have ever tried the drug; whereas, Heroin, 1%, Steroids and Methamphetamine, 2% were at the bottom of the list (Kornblum and Seccombe, 2017). The next graph shows the trends of individuals who use illegal drugs in 8th, 10th, and 12th grade. Analyzing the graph, each increase of users of drugs increases with each grade level; 12th grade with 49% of students using illegal drugs and 8th grade containing 20% of students using drugs (Kornblum and Seccombe, 2017). Since 2000, the use of illegal drugs has decreased; however, the last six years have shown as steady incline (Kornblum and Seccombe, 2017). Women are less likely to use drugs the men are and younger individuals are more likely to par-take in drugs then older individuals (Kornblum and Seccombe, 2017). All different socioeconomic groups are …show more content…
When an individual is beginning to use a drug, the experience needs to be labeled as a pleasurable thing to do. If not, the individual is less likely to participate in that drug usage again. Peer group is an important way to spread drug abuse (Kornblum and Seccombe, 2017). If an individual spends his time around a friend group that are active users of a certain drug, then the individual may also begin using the drug to fit in with the group. This often happens when the person is experiencing personal issues, such as struggling to find a friend group or having home problems (Kornblum and Seccombe, 2017). Drugs use can spread in a variety of different ways; however, peer influence and personal pressures are often the source of drug usage