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Balancing Individual Rights: Substance Abuse Legalities

Explore the complex social issues of substance abuse through the lenses of different sociological perspectives. Understand the implications of regulating alcohol and drug use balanced with societal well-being.

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Balancing Individual Rights: Substance Abuse Legalities

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  1. SOC1023G Social Problems:Unit 11Substance Abuse: Legal and Otherwise © 1998-2002 by Ronald Keith Bolender

  2. Unit 11:Substance Abuse: Legal and otherwise References Mooney, L. A., Knox, D., & Schacht, C. (1997). Understanding social problems. Cincinnati, OH: Wadsworth. Mooney, L. A., Knox, D., & Schacht, C. (2000). Understanding social problems (2nd ed.). Cincinnati, OH: Wadsworth. © 1998-2002 by Ronald Keith Bolender

  3. Devotions Wine gives false courage; hard liquor leads to brawls; what fools men are to let it master them, making them reel drunkenly down the street! Proverbs 20:1 (The Living Bible) © 1998-2002 by Ronald Keith Bolender

  4. Devotions Whose heart is filled with anguish and sorrow? Who is always fighting and quarreling? Who is the man with bloodshot eyes and many wounds? It is the one who spends long hours in the taverns, trying out new mixtures. Don’t let the sparkle and the smooth taste of strong wine deceive you. © 1998-2002 by Ronald Keith Bolender

  5. Devotions For in the end it bites like a poisonous serpent; it stings like an adder. You will see hallucinations and have delirium tremens, and you will say foolish, silly things that would embarrass you no end when sober. You will stagger like a sailor tossed at sea, clinging to a swaying mast. And afterwards you will say, “I didn’t even know it when they beat me up . . . . . Let’s go have another drink!” Proverbs 23:29-35 (The Living Bible) © 1998-2002 by Ronald Keith Bolender

  6. Devotions The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: . . . drunkenness . . . and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God. Galatians 5:19a, 21 (NIV) © 1998-2002 by Ronald Keith Bolender

  7. Unit 11:Substance Abuse: Legal and otherwise The use of alcohol and other drugs is a social problem when it interferes with the well-being of individuals and/or societies in which they live. . . In dealing with drugs, a society must balance individual rights and civil liberties against the personal and social harm that drugs promote-- © 1998-2002 by Ronald Keith Bolender

  8. Unit 11:Substance Abuse: Legal and otherwise --crack babies, suicide, drunk driving, industrial accidents, mental illness, unemployment, and teenage addiction. When to regulate, what to regulate, and who should regulate are complex social issues. © 1998-2002 by Ronald Keith Bolender

  9. Unit 11:Substance Abuse: Legal and otherwise : Structural-Functionalist Perspective (Order Paradigm) • The issue of alcohol/drug use and abuse consist of two separate phenomena • First, it is the result of a greater social dysfunction • Anomie (normlessness) [Durkheim] • Lack of integration, solidarity “. . . Sometimes, personal disorganization characterized by an individual’s feeling of detachment from his society and its norms . . . (Hoult, 1969, p. 21) © 1998-2002 by Ronald Keith Bolender

  10. Unit 11:Substance Abuse: Legal and otherwise : Structural-Functionalist Perspective (Order Paradigm) • Second, it is a social problem (dysfunction) and creates other problems • Crime • Violence • Illness • Etc. © 1998-2002 by Ronald Keith Bolender

  11. Unit 11:Substance Abuse: Legal and otherwise : Symbolic Interactionist Perspective (Pluralist Paradigm) What social impact would the symbols/labels of legal and illegal have on the following scenarios? • Legalize all drugs (Decriminalization) • Make the use of all alcoholic beverages and non-prescription addictive drugs illegal Which symbol/label would be the most effective in reducing the various social ills related to alcohol and drug use? © 1998-2002 by Ronald Keith Bolender

  12. Unit 11:Substance Abuse: Legal and otherwise : Conflict Perspective (Conflict Paradigm) The middle class (the haves) determines which drugs will receive positive and negative sanctions. In the 1940’s, marijuana was used primarily by minority group members and carried with it severe criminal penalties. But after white middle-class college students began to use marijuana in the 1970’s, the government reduced the penalties associated with its use. © 1998-2002 by Ronald Keith Bolender

  13. Unit 11:Substance Abuse: Legal and otherwise : Conflict Perspective (Conflict Paradigm) Today, we are witnessing a reverse of what happened to marijuana. Since smoking is NOW viewed by the middle class as an undesirable behavior, cigarette taxes have been drastically increase in the past few years--and there is a proposal to substantially increase them again. © 1998-2002 by Ronald Keith Bolender

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