Argumentative - Drug Abuse

What is a drug? For social science purposes, a drug must be defined in context. In the medical context, a drug is a chemical substance used to heal the body and mind, one that is physician approved in medical therapy. In this sense, Lipitor, a cholesterol-fighting agent, Zoloft, an anti-depressant, and Celebrex, an anti-arthritis agent, are drugs. Within a legal context, a drug is an illicit or controlled substance, one whose possession and sale are subject to legal penalties; this makes marijuana, LSD, and heroin drugs. In a psychopharmacological sense, a drug is a chemical substance that is psychoactive, that significantly influences the workings of the brain and hence the mind; it has an impact on mood, emotion, and cognitive processes. By this definition, alcohol, methamphetamine, and cocaine are drugs. Even tobacco induces a psychic state, while not an intoxication or "high" per se, that causes pleasurable sensations in the user that entices him or her to continue consumption.To the analyst of social problems, the third of these definitions is most relevant. The psychoactive property of drugs induces a substantial number of people to use them for recreational purposes, that is, to achieve a particular state of intoxication, which often produces harmful medical and psychological effects and dangerous behavior that generate concern in the public, negative attention from the media, and calls by legislators for controlling such use. In addition, the medical administration of drugs generates social problems when their overuse or misuse causes harm, leading to still other calls for corrective remedies.High school students who use illicit drugs and engage in binge drinking are more likely to experience impaired personal relationships and difficulties in their mental and physical health. The relationship between drug use and criminal behavior, while causally complex, is nonetheless an epidemiological fact: People who commit crime are hugely more likely to use drugs than the population at large, and it is possible that drug use may be causally implicated in the commission of criminal behavior.Clearly, the contribution of substance abuse to death, disease, monetary cost, educational and occupational impairment, accidents, and violence is considerable. Drug use is a social problem of major proportions.