Sociology 3321F/G Lecture Notes - Chemical Substance, Caffeine, Aspirin
Document Summary
A drug is any chemical substance other than food or water that affects the mind or body: how people view a particular drug varies from society to society. For example, europeans have enjoyed drinking alcohol for thousands of years. When native americans were introduced to wine and liquor by european colonists, they had no customs to guide its use. As a result, many native peoples fell into drunken stupors, causing tribal leaders to declare alcohol a serious problem. American peoples used peyote which alters human consciousness as part of their religious rituals. When this drug was shared with european settlers, many became terrified of the hallucinations it produced and soon pronounced peyote a dangerous drug. The trend in illegal drug use (as well as alcohol and cigarettes) is downward. Addiction: addiction refers to a physical or psychological physical craving for a drug.