SOC 2070 – March 4 , 2013 - Lecture
Reinarman: drug Scares and Drug Laws:
- anti-opium den laws of San Fran in 1875 directed against Chinese
immigrants
- anti-marijuana laws of Great Depression directed at Mexican Americans and
later connected to drop-out, hippie counterculture that was corrupting
morality of the youth
- seven elements to drug scares
o a kernel of truth
o media magnification
o politico-moral entrepreneurs
often the political elites – they make rules based on what they
see as a social evil
o professional interest groups
o historical context of conflict
o link a form of drug-use to a ‘dangerous class’
o scapegoating a drug for a variety fo social problems
Moral Entrepreneurs: Campaigning
- A) moral entrepreneurs:
o those who construct moral meanings and associate them with
particular acts or conditions by drawing on power and resources of:
institutions
agencies
symbols
ideas
communication to audiences
- B) deviance-making
o this process has two facets:
rule-creating
rule-enforcing
- C) rule-creating may be done by persons acting alone or in groups
o individuals: Reagan “Just say no” = Michael Moore for documentaries
about big business and violence
o groups: MADD, Group against smoking pollution
- D) Moral entrepreneurs manufacture public morality through a multi-stage
process beginning first with the generation of AWARENESS of a problem
o Claims making - second hand smoking
o Testimonials
People draw various testimonials for professionals in the field
(like doctors, scientists, etc.)
- E) Second stage involves MORAL CONVERSION or convincing others
o Claims-makers must draw on elements of drama, novelty, politics and
cultural myths to gain visibility for their issue
o They seek support for sponsors and opinion leaders – celebrities for
public endorsements
o F) If successful such campaigns may foster a MORAL PANIC SOC 2070 – March 4 , 2013 - Lecture
Temporary but widespread concern about an issue, promoted
by much media attention and sometime legislative attention
Stanley Cohen author of ‘Folk Devils and Moral Panics’
Moral panic occurs when a ‘condition, episode, person or group
of persons emerges to become defined as a threat to societal
values and interests’
Moral Panics
- concern
- hostility – us versus them
- consensus
- disproportionality
- volatility – sudden disappearance then go on to another problem
- example crack cocaine – triggered by cocaine related deaths
- politicians using public anxiety around crack that was generated by the
media to serve their political interests
Drugs and Alcohol
- socio-cultural
- biomedical – body chemistry
- social; uses of and reactions to drugs vary historically and from one culture
to another
- congress repealed prohibition in the 1920s and 1930s because many died
from beverages containing dangerous impurities
o they drank methanol instead of ethanol - still happens here people
are too poor to buy lisenced to alcohol
Nicotine
- nicotine addiction
o survey 2010 – smoking rate among 16-19 year olds dropped to 20%
in 2005 from 29% in 2001
o still many people smoke because the harmful effects of tobacco are
slower to develop
o cigarette smoking has remained a cultural habit
Alcohol Use
- alcohol
o drunk driving
- alcohol more common than drug use
o by grade 7 25% have used alcohol
o by grade 12 83%
o average age of first “drunkenness” – 14
o criticism of the alcohol industry promotion of Alco pops (tasty
alcohol!)
- binge drinking post secondary SOC 2070 – March 4 , 2013 - Lecture
o 40% of students have engaged in binge drinking with the past two
weeks
o campaigns about drinking moderately and responsibly
o at least 1 in 5 work related accidents in Canada has to do with alcohol
o it’s a social thing… people do it for stress.. etc.
Media Depictions of Substance Abuse
- Sherock Holmes, Gregory House, Trainspotting, Drugstore Cowboy, The
Sopranos, The Wire
- Dramas treat drug use and abuse as a matter of concern and marijuana use
has remained an American comedy staple
- More common today is a more negative troubled view of alcoholism and
addiction
Marijuana
- short term effects - sleepiness, difficulty keeping track of time, reduced
short-term memory, reduced ability to do tasks needing concentration,
increased heart rate, and for some paranoia, hallucinations and decreated
social inhibitions
- long term effects
o testosterone level in men
o having kids for women
o only some research has shown this
Drug Use
- cocaine – stimulant – for some highly addictive but not for others
- heroin – most commonly injected drug – addictive
- prescription drugs – Ritalin, oxycontin, anti-psychotics
- drug use can become problematic and this depends on individual,
community, family and peers
o individual factors such as genetic and environmental predispositions
o community factors such as norms about substance use, economic
conditions, peers
o family factors such as parenting style
o academic success, problem solving abilities, belonging
Theories of Drug and Alcohol Abuse
- functionalist theories – substances fulfill a social role – social cohesion
- critical theories – drug sales benefit some and others suffer
Consequences of Drug and Alcohol Abuse
- social consequences
o crime-processing, manufacturing and trafficking
o crimes associated with drug use to secure money
o drunk driving – drunk drives are involved in more than one third of
deaths cause by traffic accidents in North America SOC 2070 – March 4 , 2013 - Lecture
o drug habits are costly – prostitution, theft, robbery to support habit
- health consequences
o alcohol
o smoking
o drugs – infections and overdoses
Decriminalization and Legalization
- decriminalization – removing from the Criminal code laws against marijuana
possession and use
- legalization – taking state control of the sale of these substances, as well as
removing penalties for possession and use
- legalization allows the state to tax sales of the drug and this would entail
setting and enforcing quality standards
o the legalization in the Netherlands was to reduce the hard drug use –
but because of this policy, there has been no evidence suggesting that
decriminalizing the soft drugs results in dramatic increases in
substance abuse nor does it lead to use hard drugs like heroine or
cocaine
Cheri Bilitz – clinical director – Stonehenge Therapeutic Community
- no outside communication, the only focus is the program – 14 days, very
isolating
- after treatment phase – some jobs in the community – if they have kids, they
get one visit a weekend – only 1 call per week that is 15 minutes
- community setting. Not a hospital – it’s done by the residents – 45 minutes of
chores everyday – 15 hours day – 7 am – 930 pm everyday
- 25 cents in the swear jar and 10 minutes away of free time – only one
completes every year – it takes a lot to change and to be ready – no
psychiatrist on site
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