Hollywood has created an aura of fascination associated with drugs by creating beautifully crafted plot lines that keep the viewers enthralled with the criminal activities of the characters. There’s almost a sense of taboo when watching these glorified drug lords and their henchmen commit such a vast array of crimes as we root for their success. Shows such as Breaking Bad, Netflix’s Narcos, the movie American Gangster, and even quentin Tarantino’s Pulp Fiction entices viewers by allowing us to develop a superficial relationship with the character which tempts us to view their actions as heroic or intrinsically daring. Even the movie Dope, which takes on a comedic viewpoint of drug use portrays selling drugs as a risky adolescent adventure
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Nixon’s war on drugs has disproportionately affected demographics in the minority and also fails to acknowledge what addiction is. Drug addiction is defined as a “chronic, relapsing brain disease that is characterized by compulsive drug seeking and use, despite harmful consequences”(Abuse).. People often ascertain that drug addiction is a choice due to a person's voluntary initial use and therefore they should be punished, regardless of the disease, because it was their choice to use illegal substances. They also seem to stand firm that decriminalization of drugs will do little to change the underground drug market in the United States. I, on the other hand, believe it is crucial that drugs be decriminalized and regulated due to several points; first of which is that addiction is a brain disease not a crime, drug use is facilitated by negative social stigmas created by society, the war on drugs combats minorities and not drugs, and regulating drugs can help the economy and eliminate the underground drug …show more content…
In a Ted Talk presented by Johann Hari he offers an explanation for Alexander’s findings and states that it illustrates that humans are social creatures in need of relationships (Hari). Social stigmas surrounding drug addiction interferes with relationships by minimizing social interaction which creates isolation. This in turn creates a driving force for a person to find a way in which they feel good about themselves; such as drugs. The experiment was designed so that in one scenario, a rat that was isolated had the option to drink from plain water and heroin water. Alexander noticed that the rat, in this circumstance drank from the heroin water more than the plain water. The second scenario was a group of rats having access to plain water or heroin water but their environment provided them with more activities and sources of pleasure. The interesting thing about this experiment was that, the rats decided to drink the plain water when in groups and surrounded by other activities, but when isolated, they drank from the heroin water (Alexander, 2010). According to Hari, this illustrates how a person’s environment can influence drug use through social interaction and resources. If a person does not have adequate means to feel useful to society, valued, and important, this isolation may drive them to sources that will make them feel otherwise.
Nixon’s war on drugs has disproportionately affected demographics in the minority and also fails to acknowledge what addiction is. Drug addiction is defined as a “chronic, relapsing brain disease that is characterized by compulsive drug seeking and use, despite harmful consequences”(Abuse).. People often ascertain that drug addiction is a choice due to a person's voluntary initial use and therefore they should be punished, regardless of the disease, because it was their choice to use illegal substances. They also seem to stand firm that decriminalization of drugs will do little to change the underground drug market in the United States. I, on the other hand, believe it is crucial that drugs be decriminalized and regulated due to several points; first of which is that addiction is a brain disease not a crime, drug use is facilitated by negative social stigmas created by society, the war on drugs combats minorities and not drugs, and regulating drugs can help the economy and eliminate the underground drug …show more content…
In a Ted Talk presented by Johann Hari he offers an explanation for Alexander’s findings and states that it illustrates that humans are social creatures in need of relationships (Hari). Social stigmas surrounding drug addiction interferes with relationships by minimizing social interaction which creates isolation. This in turn creates a driving force for a person to find a way in which they feel good about themselves; such as drugs. The experiment was designed so that in one scenario, a rat that was isolated had the option to drink from plain water and heroin water. Alexander noticed that the rat, in this circumstance drank from the heroin water more than the plain water. The second scenario was a group of rats having access to plain water or heroin water but their environment provided them with more activities and sources of pleasure. The interesting thing about this experiment was that, the rats decided to drink the plain water when in groups and surrounded by other activities, but when isolated, they drank from the heroin water (Alexander, 2010). According to Hari, this illustrates how a person’s environment can influence drug use through social interaction and resources. If a person does not have adequate means to feel useful to society, valued, and important, this isolation may drive them to sources that will make them feel otherwise.