Using the levels of analysis, Micro (individuals and family) and Macro (organiza

Question

Using the levels of analysis, Micro (individuals and family) and Macro (organizations and society), assess the issue of drug use in America.

Step 1: Go online and research how drug use affects either the individual or the family and how drug use affects either organizations or society.

Step 2: Explain the social consequences that might occur as a result of the drug use for each level.

Step 3: Give an example/scenario for both the micro and the macro levels of analysis. Include the research sources you used to support your example/scenario.

Explanation / Answer

Step 1: Go online and research how drug use affects either the individual or the family and how drug use affects either organizations or society.

Individual Level

At the micro-level drug use and abuse at individual level vary with personality, age, role in the family, socio-ecoomic position etc. Indiuals consequences may involve that feeling isolated and abandoned from family, experience higher levels of anxiety and depression, hey may also engage in self-medication to deal with such problems. Individual drug user also is unreliable at work place, get frequent health problems, and often becomes dependent upon others financially and psychologically. Due to constant blames and negative reactions of related others such an individual is likely to feel guilty about his/her behaviour or sometime may engage in denying the problem itself. Many individuals also develop anti-social behaviour in case they are not able to sustain their habit they tell lie, cheat others, and when the drug abuse becomes dependence then the individual may engage in serious violence at home or outside to sustain their drug needs. Therefore drug abuse is very often found with other health problems or socially deviant behaviour patterns. Some of the drug usage also may cause unafe beahiors like taking unsterilized injection and cause spead of deadly diseases like hepititas and AIDS. Data from NSDUH has indicated that in 2004 alone over 3.5 million individuals admitted to having injected an illicit drug at some point in their life. Of these, fourteen percent (498,000) were under the age of 25. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has reported that 123,235 adults in the United States have contracted AIDS in 2003 from injection for drug use. CDC has also reported more than 25,000 deaths in 2003 from drug-induced effect

Family Level -

Children of drug addicts are often are abused/neglected due to individuals' preoccupation with drugs. Research has shown that drug using parents often prioritize their drug needs over wellbeing of their children. NSDUH data (2002 and 2003) indicated that approximately four percent pregnant women used illicit drugs in last month, and 8.5 percent new mothers reported the same. It has been found that children of such parents normally abused physically or emotionally, often devoid of basic amenities like proper medical care and food.

NCLSS data also shows that 9895 illicit methamphetamine laboratories in 2004 were seized by U.S. law enforcement agencies and it was found that 2,474 children were affected such laboratories due to chemical exposure.

Society -

Often at work places, the drug users’ co-workers have to take extra burden of work not done properly by such an individual. There is also huge cost of unwarranted absence from work on the part of drug abusers. Drug users also make a significantly larger proportion of unemployed. Automobile accidents have higher representation of drug using drivers. Quest Diagnostics a firm which conducts employee drug tests for employers, has reportd that approximately 5.7 percent of their total tested individuals were found to be party in an accident that were employment-related during the year 2004. Firms also face such problems as theft, absenteeism, higher insurance and legal costs, and lowered productivity from their drug abusing employees.

The economic costs of drug abuse puts a heavy burden upon federal, state, governments. DEA estimated the cost to clean up a methamphetamine production laboratory around $1,900 and give the fact that approximately 9,777 such labs were seized only during 2002 and 2004 the overall costs are huge. It costed DEA over $18 million to cleanup 10061 state and local clandestine laboratories through a Hazardous Waste Cleanup Program in 2004. In another study 69% of county officials in a 2005 survey conducted by National Association of Counties reported they had to also develop extra training protocols for county welfare workers working with children exposed to methamphetamine.

Related Questions

Navigate

• Browse (All)
• Browse U
• Subjects

Integrity-first tutoring: explanations and feedback only — we do not complete graded work. Learn more.