PS268 Chapter Notes - Chapter 2: Endangerment, Homicide
Chap 2: Drug Use As a Social Problem
Laissez-Faire
-if the seller wanted to sell it and if the buyer wanted to buy, let them do it
Three principal concerns that have universally driven the development of drug laws:
1) Toxicity:
-some drugs considered to endanger public health and victimize individuals bc of
harmful chemicals
-often unlabelled
2) Dependence:
-some sellers seen as victimizing individuals by selling them habit-forming drugs
-again w/o appropriate labels
3) Crime:
-drug user came to be seen as threat to public safety
Crime and Violence: Does Drug Use Cause Crime?
-drug use may change individual's personality in lasting way
Document Summary
Chap 2: drug use as a social problem. If the seller wanted to sell it and if the buyer wanted to buy, let them do it. Three principal concerns that have universally driven the development of drug laws: toxicity: Some drugs considered to endanger public health and victimize individuals bc of harmful chemicals. Some sellers seen as victimizing individuals by selling them habit-forming drugs. Drug user came to be seen as threat to public safety. Drug use may change individual"s personality in lasting way. Indicators of criminal or antisocial behaviour usually occur before first use of an illicit drug. Weed produces a state more akin to letharg than crazed violence. Heroin tends to make users more passive and sexually impotent. Amphetamine and cocaine can make people paranoid and jumpy and this can contribute to violent behaviour. Pcp causes disorientation and blocks pain so users are hard to restrain.
