Drugged Society Flashback to 1970. Imagine flared pants, silky tops, and afros accompanied with the faint smoke of marijuana. Fast forward to 2015: short skirts, high heels, and frat boys smoking a joint. The popular opinion of drugs today has been that they have progressively gotten worse, when in reality there has not been a considerable change at all. The amount of drug use and abuse has fluctuated between the 1960s and current years, yet stayed consistent as they have always been a part of our society. Marijuana has been compelling for decades, heroin remains in the ghettos, and new drugs are continually popping up. The 1960s was the time for marijuana using hippies and ghettos full of heroin (Robinson, “‘60s”). Each social group was,
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Within these territories penalties for owning a limited quantity of weed did not exist. Plus, only 25% of high school students believed the use of marijuana for enjoyment should be illegal (Goode and Ben-Yehuda). This could be a sign that a large percentage of students smoked cannabis during this time. A poll in 1973 stated 12% of people said they had tried marijuana. That number doubled within 4 years, and in 1977, almost a quarter of the respondents had experimented with marijuana (Robinson “‘60s”). In yet another poll in 1978, only 35% of high school students understood that smoking marijuana regularly could cause a lot of damage (Goode and Ben-Yehuda). During this decade, students were not fully educated on the negative effects marijuana could have on the body. Illegal drugs were widely accepted in the ‘70s, and they became “glamorous, without becoming better understood” (Robinson “‘60s”). This time of ignorance did not last …show more content…
No drug ever completely fades out. Increases continue to happen concerning marijuana, as it is the number one street drug today (Steinberg). Heroin and cocaine have also “remained a presence” in inner city neighborhoods, but because heroin is cheap and easy to obtain, it is slowly gaining popularity in suburban areas (Steinberg). In fact, 510 deaths caused by heroin were recorded in 2009, and addiction levels rose 80% within a 10 year time period (Steinberg). Crystal meth has also hit the midwestern states hard recently, as it is cheap, easy to make at home, and does not require any special equipment (Steinberg). It has been dubbed the second most popular drug in this decade, trailing behind
Within these territories penalties for owning a limited quantity of weed did not exist. Plus, only 25% of high school students believed the use of marijuana for enjoyment should be illegal (Goode and Ben-Yehuda). This could be a sign that a large percentage of students smoked cannabis during this time. A poll in 1973 stated 12% of people said they had tried marijuana. That number doubled within 4 years, and in 1977, almost a quarter of the respondents had experimented with marijuana (Robinson “‘60s”). In yet another poll in 1978, only 35% of high school students understood that smoking marijuana regularly could cause a lot of damage (Goode and Ben-Yehuda). During this decade, students were not fully educated on the negative effects marijuana could have on the body. Illegal drugs were widely accepted in the ‘70s, and they became “glamorous, without becoming better understood” (Robinson “‘60s”). This time of ignorance did not last …show more content…
No drug ever completely fades out. Increases continue to happen concerning marijuana, as it is the number one street drug today (Steinberg). Heroin and cocaine have also “remained a presence” in inner city neighborhoods, but because heroin is cheap and easy to obtain, it is slowly gaining popularity in suburban areas (Steinberg). In fact, 510 deaths caused by heroin were recorded in 2009, and addiction levels rose 80% within a 10 year time period (Steinberg). Crystal meth has also hit the midwestern states hard recently, as it is cheap, easy to make at home, and does not require any special equipment (Steinberg). It has been dubbed the second most popular drug in this decade, trailing behind