11.2 The Social Problem of Drug Use and Misuse
Kelly Szott and Kimberly Puttman
There are many ways to construct drug use and addiction as a social problem. Drug use is simply the imbibing of substances, which can happen without addiction or physical dependence but may lead to those outcomes. There is nothing inherently wrong with drug use. On the other hand, addiction is the chronic, relapsing disorder characterized by compulsive drug seeking and use despite adverse consequences (National Institute on Drug Abuse 2020). But it’s not just addiction or illicit drug use that is the social problem. The unequal impact of drug use on families and communities is the social problem. This chapter will not discuss drug use as inherently bad.
Instead, we will examine this social problem based on some of the characteristics of a social problem from Chapter 1. As the stories in section 11.1 illustrate, the opioid epidemic impacts everyone, from individuals to families, hospitals, workplaces, and governments. It goes beyond the experience of one individual.
Secondly, in our exploration of drug use and misuse, we see social construction at work. You may notice that throughout this chapter, we use the word cannabis to describe the drug that is commonly known as marijuana or weed. The common word marijuana is racist. It reflects a racist past. More specifically, the United States experienced an increase in Mexican immigration after the 1910 Mexican War of Independence. Some immigrants used the herb mariguano for casual smoking. Although the immigrants were important in providing needed agricultural labor, the increase in immigration raised xenophobic fears.
Mexican immigrants were often blamed for property crimes and sexual misconduct. White people in power conveniently blamed the use of marijuana for this. “One Texas state legislator proclaimed on the senate floor: “All Mexicans are crazy and this stuff [cannabis] is what makes them crazy” (Ghelani 2020:7). In 1937, Harry Ainsliger, head of the Federal Bureau of Narcotics testified before Congress saying, “marihuana is an addictive drug which produces insanity, criminality, and death” (Ghelani 2020:8). Associating the use of cannabis with Mexican immigrants by naming it marijuana was a way to assert power and control over a particular ethnic group. This is using language as a social construction. To resist this oppression, we will use the word cannabis instead of the word marijuana in this chapter, except when we are quoting from other people.
In addition, we remember that a social problem arises when groups of people experience inequality. This point is particularly important when we discuss drug use and harmful drug use. People of all races use drugs at the same rate. However, People of Color are likely to be arrested and jailed for drug offenses. White people are more likely to be seen as needing medical intervention, and therefore they are more likely to receive treatment. More specifically:
Although Black A