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Chapter 3 Notes

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

After reading this chapter, you should be able to:

  1. Define the term drug from a pharmacological and sociological perspective.
  2. Describe the extent of drug use around the world, the most common drugs used worldwide, and variations in drug use among countries and over time.
  3. Explain the government treatment of drug use as health issues in countries such as The Netherlands and Britain in contrast to punitive policies in other countries.
  4. Describe the prevalence of illicit drug use in the United States and historical changes in cultural definitions and legal availability of drugs in the U.S.
  5. Explain the concepts of drug abuse, drug addiction or chemical dependency, and the difference between psychological and physical dependency.
  6. Explain the structural-functionalist, conflict and symbolic interactionist view of drug use, including how the concept of anomie contributes to the understanding of drug use, the influence of power differentials and inequality on drug use and the criminalization of drugs, and how social interaction and symbolic meanings contribute to drug use and to public acceptance of ameliorative programs.
  7. Explain biological and psychological theories of how personality types and behavioral reinforcement influences drug use.
  8. Compare the legal status, extent of usage, demographic characteristics of users, and the negative effects of the following drugs: alcohol, tobacco, marijuana, cocaine and methamphetamine, heroin, prescription drugs, and synthetic drugs.
  9. Describe how drug misuse contributes to family problems, crime, economic costs, and health problems and environment costs.
  10. Describe drug prevention and drug treatment alternatives, including inpatient versus outpatient treatment and the peer support groups versus therapeutic communities and drug courts.
  11. Present arguments for and against the deregulation, economic incentives, legalization, and decriminalization of various drugs.
  12. Describe collective action initiatives in the United States to reduce the problems of drug misuse, including class-action law suits and state legislation and referendums.

Introduction

  • Social problem when the abuse of alcohol and other drugs interfere with the overall well-being of individuals and/or the societies in which they live.
  • It can threaten the health, safety, work and academic success, family, and friends.
  • Challenge at the individual (micro ) and societal (macro) levels.
  • Society must balance individual rights and civil liberties against the personal and social harm that drugs promote:
    • Fetal alcohol syndrome
    • Suicide
    • Drunk driving
    • Industrial accidents
    • Mental illness
    • Unemployment
    • Teenage addiction
  • Complex social issues for a society
    • What to regulate
    • Who to regulate
    • When to regulate

The Global Context: Drug Use and Abuse

  1. Drug:
    • General definition: any substance other than food that alters the structure and/or functioning of a living organism when it enters the bloodstream.
      • This definition is very broad and includes vitamins and aspirin
    • Sociological definition: any chemical substance that
      • Has a direct effect on users’ physical, psychological, and/or intellectual functioning
      • Has the potential to be abused
      • Has adverse consequences for individuals and/or society
  2. Drug use is influenced by
    • Social context of a particular society
    • Time in which drug use occurs
  3. Drug Use and Abuse Around the World
  • Globally, nearly 20% of the adult population smokes cigarettes
  • 80% of the people that smoke cigarettes are from low and middle income countries
  • 3.6 to 6.9 percent of the world’s population between ages 15 & 64 (between 167 and 315 million people) report using at least one illicit drug in the previous year (WDR 2013)
  • Widely used illegal drugs
    1. marijuana and hashish
    2. amphetamine type stimulants (ats)
    3. cocaine
    4. opiate based drugs
    • Varies by location (different rates for different nations) and lifetime of individuals
    • considerable variation in levels of life time drug use reported
    • lifetime use of any illicit drug other than marijuana by 15 and 16 year olds is the highest in the United States (16 percent) when compared to 36 European countries, averaging a lifetime use of 6%. (pg 66)
    • Varies by time and increases with age (pg 66)
  1. Drug use might be attributed to variations in drug policies
    • Netherlands, an official government policy of treating the use of “soft” drugs such as marijuana and hashish as a public health issue rather than a criminal justice issue since the mid 1970’s. *Treatment focuses on drug user and prevention of future drug use prioritized over imprisonment found in other countries.
    • Since 2013, a new law requires that coffee shop customers must be Dutch residents only.
    • Great Britain now has an emphasis on restrictions, making it difficult for physicians or users to obtain drugs legally.
    • Focus on drug prohibition, criminalization and incarceration (“War on Drugs”)
    • British officials are weighing the relative weights of returning to a medical model that embraces drug addiction as a medical disorder
    • European Union (EU) adopted a 2013–2020 drug policy that includes the objective of reducing the health and social risks and harms caused by drugs.
  2. Fig 3.1: Alcohol, Cigarette, and Illicit Drug Use over the Last Decade for 8th, 10th, and 12th Graders, 2012.

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  1. Many countries do not have a health based policy
    • Some countries execute drug users and/or dealers or they use corporal punishment
      • Whipping
      • Stoning
      • Beating
      • Torture
    • In Iran, 450 people were executed in 2011 (five times the number executed in 2008 for the drug offenses) (Textbook, pg. 67; Gallahue et al. 2012)
    • In Pakistan, death sentences have tripled during the same time period (Textbook, pg. 67; Gallahue et al. 2012)
  2. Drug Use and Abuse in the United States
  • Contradictory cultural definition
    • condemning it (e.g. heroin)
    • encouraging and tolerating it (e.g. alcohol)
  • Changes over time, many drugs that are illegal today were legal once
    • 1800’s to early 1900’s:
      • opium was used in medication as a pain reliever
      • morphine was a treatment for dysentery and fatigue
      • amphetamine-based inhalers were legally available until 1949
      • cocaine was in Coca-Cola until 1906 when it was replaced by caffeine

Sociological theories of Drug Use and Abuse

  1. Structural-Functionalist Perspectives
  • Argues that drug abuse is a response to weakening societal norms
  • Anomie occurs: as society becomes more complex and rapid social change occurs, norms and values become unclear and ambiguous–a state of normlessness
    • may exist at the societal level resulting in drug use
      • results in social strains (costs to society)
      • results in inconsistencies in cultural norms that may result in drug use
      • public health campaigns from health officials and professionals warn of the dangers of alcohol and tobacco use
      • advertisers glorify the use of alcohol and tobacco
      • U.S. government subsidizes the alcohol and tobacco industries
    • may exist at the individual level
      • a person suffering from feelings of estrangement, isolation, and turmoil over appropriate and inappropriate behavior
      • situational
      • can be from biological or physiological reasons (medical)
      • can be from psychological reasons (stress, new environment, trauma)
    • From a S-F perspective: drug use is a response to the absence of a perceived bond between the individual and society and to the weakening of a consensus regarding what is considered acceptable
  1. Conflict Perspective
  • emphasizes the importance of power differentials in influencing drug use behavior and societal values concerning drug use
    • drug use occurs as a result of the inequality perpetuated by a capitalist system
    • users turn to drugs because of alienation from work, friends, family, society, and its institutions
    • the most powerful members of society influence the definitions of which drugs are illegal and the penalties associated with illegal drug production, sales and use
    • patterns of social control of the powerless, subaltern (is the social group who are socially, politically, and geographically outside of the hegemonic power structure) voices, political opponents, and/or minorities
    • changes occur with changes in power dynamics of a society
  1. Symbolic Interactionist Perspective
  • emphasizes the importance of definitions and labeling
  • concentrates on social meanings associated with drug use
  • labeling theory (micro to macro level)
    • individual level
    • relationships level
    • small group level
    • large group level
    • society
  • symbols can be manipulated and used for political and economic agendas
  • evidence based method using sociological and communication theories to drive effective public health campaigns
  1. Biological and Psychological Theories
  • Drug use and addiction are the result of a complex relationship between social, psychological , and biological forces
  • Bio behavioral disorder which combines biological (physiological) and psychological reasons
  • Genetics
  • Dual diagnoses
  • Psychological explanations focus on tendency of certain personality types to be more susceptible to drug use
    • Drug use may respond to positive and negative reinforcement
    • Drug may have a different response of positive or negative that feeds the addiction

Frequently Used Illegal Drugs

  • More than 23.9 million people in the U.S. are current illicit drug users (9.2% of the population age 12 and older)

Marijuana Madness

Cocaine

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Methamphetamine: The Meth Epidemic

  • Central Nervous System (CNS) stimulant
  • Highly addictive
  • Medical and Recreational Uses: Medicinally, methamphetamine is used in the treatment of narcolepsy, attention deficit disorder (ADD), and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Typical doses are 10 mg/day or up to 40 mg daily, and a course of greater than six weeks is not recommended. Methamphetamine is infrequently used in the treatment of obesity, overeating disorders, and weight loss due to its abuse potential. Amphetamine is also used in ADD, narcolepsy, and weight control. Recreationally, methamphetamine is abused to increase alertness, relieve fatigue, control weight, treat mild depression, and for its intense euphoric effects.
  • Several states have passed regulations that require a prescription to obtain ephedrine and pseudo-ephedrine, the key ingredients in methamphetamine–with some success…
    • Number of methamphetamine labs declined in the states with regulations for prescriptions
  • For more information: http://www.nhtsa.gov/people/injury/research/job185drugs/methamphetamine.htm
  • T.V. show about methamphetamine use: http://www.sociologyinfocus.com/tag/breaking-bad/
  • Chemical Structure:

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Heroin: The White Horse

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Other Illegal Drugs

  1. Ecstasy: Over 10.5 million people age 15-64 worldwide use ecstasy; 5.5% of Americans age 12 and older report using it at least once.
  2. Ketamine and LSD produce visual effects when ingested: Ketamine and LSD use are decreasing in the U.S.
  3. Salvia is an herb grown in Mexico and Central and South America and is legal in the U.S. though regulated in many states.
  4. GHB and Rohypnol are often called “date-rape drugs” because of their use in rendering victims incapable of resisting sexual assaults.
    • 1.4% of 12th graders, 0.6% of 10th graders, and .6% of 8th graders reported past-year use of GHB.
    • 0.8% of 8th, 10th, and 12th graders respectively reported past year use of Rohypnol.
  5. Hallucinogens: LSD is a synthetic hallucinogen (Timothy Leary) #### Prescriptioin Drugs
  • Non-medical use of any prescription pain reliever, stimulant, sedative, or tranquilizer.
  • More than 6.8 million people (2.6 % of Americans over age 12) report current use of a psychotherapeutic drug for non-medical purposes.
  • Non-medical prescription drug use among teens is on the rise.

Synthetic Drugs

Category of drugs designed in labs and is growing. Synthetic marijuana higher in the US than other parts of the world. * Bath Salts are highly addictive synthetic stimulants that produce feelings of euphoria, paranoia, rapid heartbeat, chest pains, hallucinations and suicidal thoughts.

Societal Consequences of Drug Use and Abuse

  • Family Costs
    • An estimated 1 in 10 U.S. children live with a parent in need of drug/alcohol treatment.
    • Children raised in such homes are more likely to live in a conflict-ridden or violent environment, have physical illness including injuries or death from car accidents, and be victims of abuse or neglect.
    • Alcohol abuse is the most common trait associated with wife abuse.
  • Crime and Violence
    • 27% of victims report that offender was involved with drugs/alcohol.
      • The drug behavior of individuals arrested, incarcerated, and in drug-treatment programs provides evidence of a link between drugs and crime: 27% of victims of violent crime report the offender had used drugs or alcohol; 32% of state and 26% of federal prisoners said they committed their offence while under the influence
    • Sociologists disagree whether drugs “cause” crime or criminal activity leads to drug use; further, some criminal offenses are defined by drug use (e.g. possession or driving while intoxicated).
    • Driving while intoxicated is one of most common and dangerous drug-related crimes.
  • Economic Costs
    • The total cost of substance abuse/addiction in the U.S. is estimated at $467.7 billion.
      • An estimated 95.6% was spent on “shoveling up wreckage”—health care costs, crime, child and family assistance programs, education, public safety, mental health and disabilities, and federal workforce.
      • Only 1.9% went to prevention.
  • Physical and Mental Health Costs
    • Cigarette smoking is the leading preventable cause of disease and deaths in the world.
      • Tobacco kills 5.4 million annually worldwide. *. WHO has six initiatives that reduce tobacco usage.
      • Alcohol abuse causes 2.5 million deaths worldwide annually and 80,000 in the U.S.
        • Maternal prenatal alcohol use is associated with one of the leading preventable causes of birth defects and developmental disabilities in children—fetal alcohol syndrome—characterized by serious physical and mental handicaps, including low birth weight, facial deformities, mental retardation, and hearing and vision problems.
    • Heavy alcohol and drug use are associated with negative consequences for mental health, including increased depression.
  • The Cost of Drug Use on the Environment
    • Although not usually considered, the production of illegal drugs takes a considerable toll on the environment
      • deforestation
        • contaminated water
        • fish and wildlife concerns (from flushing drugs into the water system)

Treatment Alternatives

  • Inpatient and Outpatient Treatment
    • Inpatient treatment Treatment of drug dependence in a hospital and includes medical supervision of detoxification. Most last 30-90 days and target individuals whose withdrawal symptoms require close monitoring.
    • Outpatient treatment * Allows patients to remain in their home/work environments and is often less expensive. * A physician evaluates the patient’s progress, prescribes medication, and watches for signs of relapse.
    • Factors in treatment success * The longer a patient stays in treatment, the greater the likelihood of successful recovery. * Other variables include support of family and friends, employer intervention, positive relationship with therapeutic staff, and a program of recovery that addresses many of the needs of the patient. * Internal motivation does not appear to be a prerequisite for change.
  • Peer Support Groups
    • 12-Step programs: AA (Alcoholics Anonymous) and NA (Narcotics Anonymous) * These are voluntary, self-help associations whose only membership requirement is desire to stop using alcohol or drugs.
      • Over 50% of recovering addicts surveyed reported using a self-help program in their recovery.
    • Symbolic interactionists emphasize that AA and NA provide social contexts in which people develop new meanings, including positive labels, encouragement and support for sobriety.
  • Therapeutic Communities
    • House between 35 and 500 people for up to 15 months helping them abstain from drugs, develop marketable skills and receive counseling.
    • Predictors of overcoming dependency include length of stay, living with a partner before entering the program and having a strong self-concept.
    • Symbolic interactionists argue that behavioral changes result from revised self-definition and positive expectations of others.
  • Drug Courts
    • 2 types: deferred prosecution and post adjudication programs
      • deferred prosecution has defendants complete a program rather than plead guilty
    • post adjudication requires a guilty plea but sentences are deferred while they complete the program
      • Over 1,600 drug courts in all 50 states.

Strategies for Action: America Responds

  • Alcohol and Tobacco
    • Strategies to deal with alcohol and tobacco abuse are often different from those for illegal drugs.
    • Economic incentives, such as increasing the cost of the product or excise taxes, reduce prevalence and consumption rates; other economic incentives include reimbursement for smoking/alcohol cessation programs, reduced health insurance premiums for non-smokers and reduced car insurance for non-drinkers.
    • Government regulations are somewhat successful, such as raising the legal drinking age and clean air laws that restrict smoking in public places.
    • Legal actions against tobacco companies have resulted in billions of dollars of reimbursements to states for health costs and restricted advertising; more recent suits have been filed against alcohol companies.
    • Prevention tactics, such as anti-smoking and drinking advertising is shown to reduce use.
  • Illegal Drugs
    • In the 1980s, the federal government declared a “War on Drugs.”
      • The belief was that controlling drug availability would limit drug use and drug-related problems.
        • Is a “zero-tolerance” approach that uses tough law enforcement policies that has resulted in dramatic increases in the jail/prison population?
        • In 1980, there were about 40,000 drug offenders in jail; today there are about 500,000.
    • Some question whether the war on drugs is working.
      • Some argue the war on drugs has increased other social problems (e.g., crime, unemployment, AIDS, etc.), and is incredibly expensive ($26.2 billion in 2012).
      • U.S. policy is two-pronged: demand reduction entails reducing demand for drugs through treatment and prevention and comprises 40% of drug control spending; supply reduction is a punitive strategy that focuses on reducing the supply of drugs through international efforts, interdiction and domestic law enforcement.
        • The vast majority of people think the War on Drugs has been a failure.
  • Deregulation or Legalization
    • Deregulation: the reduction of government control over certain drugs
      • Examples include legal sale and purchase of alcohol and cigarettes, lawful use of marijuana for medicinal purposes in some states, and legal personal possession of any drug in Spain and Italy.
    • Legalization: make drug use legal based on idea of the right of adults to make informed choices. * Proponents argue citizens would benefit from drug tax revenue, purity and safety controls could be implemented, and increased competition would reduce prices.
    • Decriminalization: removal of penalties for certain drugs, promoting a medical rather than criminal approach to drug use.
      • Would encourage users to seek treatment and adopt preventive practices.
    • Opponents of legalization argue it would suggest government approval of drug use, increase drug experimentation and abuse, and require costly bureaucracy to regulate the manufacture, sale and distribution of drugs.
    • State initiatives have been implemented to address the cost-effectiveness of government policies.
      • Examples include treatment instead of incarceration for first-time offenders, overdose prevention legislation and allowing the sale of sterile syringes without a prescription.
  • State Initiatives
    • State initiatives have focused on treatment especially for first time, nonviolent offenders in order to treat the problem and reduce prison overcrowding.

Understanding Alcohol and Other Drug Use

  • Substance abuse is socially defined.
  • Balanced policy approach is needed which focuses on enforcement as well as treatment, prevention and harm reduction.

Chapter Review

  1. What is a drug, and what is meant by drug abuse?

Sociologically, the term drug refers to any chemical substance that (1) has a direct effect on the user’s physical, psychological, and/or intellectual functioning; (2) has the potential to be abused; and (3) has adverse consequences for the individual and/or society. Drug abuse occurs when acceptable social standards of drug use are violated, resulting in adverse physiological, psychological, and/or social consequences.

  1. How do the three sociological theories of society explain drug use?

Structural functionalists argue that drug abuse is a response to the weakening of norms in society, leading to a condition known as anomie or normlessness. From a conflict perspec- tive, drug use occurs as a response to the inequality perpetuated by a capitalist system as societal members respond to alienation from their work, family, and friends. Symbolic interactionism concentrates on the social meanings associated with drug use. If the initial drug use experience is defined as pleasurable, it is likely to recur, and over time, the individual may earn the label of “drug user.”

  1. What are the most frequently used legal and illegal drugs?

Alcohol is the most commonly used and abused legal drug in the United States, with 66 percent of the adult population reporting current alcohol use. Although tobacco use in the United States has been declining, the use of tobacco products is globally very high, with 80 percent of the world’s over one billion smokers living in low- or middle- income countries.

  1. What are the consequences of drug abuse?

The consequences of drug use are five fold.

  • First is the cost to the family and children, often manifesting itself in higher rates of divorce, spouse abuse, child abuse, and child neglect.
  • Second is the relationship between drugs and crime. Those arrested have disproportionately higher rates of drug use. Although drug users commit more crimes, sociologists disagree as to whether drugs actually “cause” crime or whether, instead, criminal activity leads to drug involvement.
  • Third are the economic costs (e.g., loss of productivity), which are in the billions.
  • Fourth, the health costs of abusing drugs, including shortened life expectancy; higher morbidity (e.g., cirrhosis of the liver and lung cancer); exposure to HIV infection, hepatitis, and other diseases through shared needles; a weakened immune system; birth defects such as fetal alcohol syndrome; drug addiction in children; and higher death rates.
  • Fifth and finally, illegal drug production takes its toll on the environment, which impacts all Americans.
  1. What treatment alternatives are available for drug users?

Although there are many ways to treat drug abuse, two methods stand out:

The inpatient–outpatient model entails medical supervision of detoxification and may or may not include hospitalization. Twelve-step programs such as Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) and Narcotics Anonymous (NA) are particularly popular, as are therapeutic communities. Therapeutic communities are residential facilities where drug users learn to redefine themselves and their behavior as a response to the expectations of others and self-definition. Finally, drug courts are used as an alternative to the traditional punitive methods of probation and incarceration.

  1. What can be done about the drug problem?

First, there are government regulations limiting the use (e.g., the law establishing the 21-year-old drinking age) and distribution (e.g., prohibitions about importing drugs) of legal and illegal drugs. The government also imposes sanctions on those who violate drug regulations and provides treatment facilities for other offenders. Economic incentives (e.g., cost) and prevention programs have also been found to impact consumption rates. Finally, legal action holding companies responsible for the consequences for their product—for example, class-action suits against tobacco producers—have been fairly successful.

Thought Questions

  • How does the sociological perspective help us understand alcohol and other drug use in societies?
  • How does viewing the problem from multiple perspectives help us develop health campaigns designed to target a population?
  • How does societal opinions change for drug use and abuse if you are:
    • high-income
    • middle-income
    • low-income
  • How did Prohibition impact society using Sociological Perspectives?
  • How did the repeal of Prohibition impact society using Sociological Perspectives?
  • How does a drug impact a community in terms of production, distribution, and use?
  • How does the medical community help or hinder legal pharmaceutical based drug addiction?

Test Yourself

  1. Cannabis cafes are commonplace throughout England
  1. True
  2. False
  1. The most used illicit drug in the world is
  1. Heroin
  2. Marijuana
  3. Cocaine
  4. Methamphetamine
  1. What theory would argue that the continued legality of alcohol is a consequence of corporate greed?
  1. Structural functionalism
  2. Symbolic interactionism
  3. Reinforcement theory
  4. Conflict theory
  1. Cigarette smoking is
  1. The third leading cause of preventable death in the United States
  2. Not addictive
  3. The most common use of tobacco products
  4. Increasing in the United States
  1. In the United States, drinking is highest among young, nonwhite males
  1. True
  2. False
  1. Which European country decriminalized personal possession of all drugs, including marijuana, cocaine, heroin, and methamphetamine?
  1. Spain
  2. France
  3. Portugal
  4. The Netherlands
  1. The active ingredient in marijuana, THC, can act as a sedative or hallucinogen
  1. True
  2. False
  1. According to the proposed 2014 budget, most federal drug control dollars are allocated to
  1. International efforts
  2. Domestic law enforcement
  3. Prevention and research
  4. Treatment and research
  1. Decriminalization refers to the removal of penalties for certain drugs.
  1. True
  2. False
  1. The two-pronged drug control strategy of the U.S. government entails supply reduction and harm reduction.
  1. True
  2. True

Test Yourself Answers

  1. B False
  2. B Marijuana
  3. D Conflict theory
  4. C The most common use of tobacco products
  5. B False
  6. C Portugal
  7. A True
  8. B Domestic law enforcement
  9. A True
  10. B True

Key Terms

  • Binge Drinking, pg. 72
    • As defined by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, drinking five or more drinks on the same occasion on at least one day in the past 30 days prior to the National Survey on Drug Use and Health.
  • Chemical Dependency, pg. 68
    • A condition in which drug use is compulsive and users are unable to stop because of physical and/or psychological dependency.
  • Crack, pg. 79
    • A crystallized illegal drug product produced by boiling a mixture of baking soda, water, and cocaine.
  • Decriminalization, pg. 95
    • Entails removing state penalties for certain drugs, and promotes a medical rather than criminal approach to drug use that encourages users to seek treatment and adopt preventative practice.
  • Demand Reduction, pg. 93
    • One of two strategies in the U.S. war on drugs (the other is supply reduction), demand reduction focuses on reducing the demand for drugs through treatment, prevention and research.
  • Deregulation, pg. 94
    • The reduction of government control over, for example, certain drugs.
  • Drug, pg. 65
    • Any substance other than food that alters the structure or functioning of a living organism when it enters the bloodstream.
  • Drug Abuse, pg. 68
    • The violation of social standards of acceptable drug use, resulting in adverse physiological, psychological, and/or social consequences.
  • Drug Courts, pg. 89
    • Special courts that divert drug offenders to treatment programs in lieu of probation or incarceration.
  • Fetal Alcohol Syndrome, pg. 86
    • A syndrome characterized by serious physical and mental handicaps as a result of a maternal drinking during pregnancy.
  • Gateway Drug, pg. 76
    • A drug that is believed to lead to the use of other drugs
  • Harm Reduction, pg. 92
    • A recent public health position that advocates reducing the harmful consequences of drug use for the user as well as for society as a whole.
  • Heavy Drinking, pg. 72
    • As defined by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, five or more drinks on the same occasion on each of five or more days in the past 30 days prior to the National Survey on Drug Use and Health.
  • Legalization, pg. 94
    • Making prohibited behaviors legal: for example, legalizing drug use or prostitution.
  • Meta-Analysis, pg. 74
    • Meta-analysis combines the results of several studies addressing a research question: i.e., it is the analysis of the analysis.
  • Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome (NAS), pg. 86
    • A condition in which a child, at birth goes through withdrawal as a consequence of maternal drug use.
  • Psycho therapeutic Drugs, pg. 80
    • The non-medical use of any prescription pain reliever, stimulant, sedative, or tranquilizer.
  • Supply Reduction, pg. 94
    • One of two strategies in the U.S. war on drugs (the other is demand reduction), supply reduction concentrates on reducing the supply of drugs available on the streets through international efforts, interdiction, and domestic law enforcement.
  • Synthetic Drugs, pg. 81
    • A category of drugs that are designed in laboratories rather than naturally occurring in plant material.
  • Therapeutic Communities, pg. 89
    • Organization in which approximately 35 to 500 individuals reside for up to 15 months to abstain from drugs, develop marketable skills, and receive counseling.