I don't quite understand the original use of this product. I don't understand the conflicting label "Synthetic pot," but on the package itself, it states that it is not for human consumption.
With that, what I can say is that government regulation will do very little to help this social problem. It won’t stop the Chinese from selling their drugs, just as it hasn't stop the Mexicans selling their drugs in the US. Government regulation has not stopped drug trafficking.
The only thing I can see making a difference is continuing police work on the country wide crackdown. The DA just needs to keep doing what they are doing to minimize the drugs in the US. Unfortunately, this problem will never go away.
Another solution, in my opinion, is to continue to educate our kids. Just like the contemporary school's sex education, we need to continue to educate our kids about drugs. Just like a biology class, as new data arrives, we need to be open and share with our kids. Amanda G 9/17/2013
The social problem with marijuana has been around for many years, especially between kids in different age groups. This drug has been coming in and out of schools and has not been stopped yet. Now that this synthetic drug has came about, the same issues will continue to happen.
A conflict theorist might look at this situation and evaluate it as certain groups of individuals try these substances to feel like they are connected to their surroundings or groups. An individual can feel pressured to fit in with a group, therefore, he/she tries to fit in by using this synthetic drug. Also, a conflict theorist can say that the government should try their hardest to educate groups of young adults the dangers and effects of the use of synthetic drugs.
A solution to this dangerous problem can be the power to educate young adults. I personally think that the DEA should hold presentations in high schools and educate students and teachers about this toxic substance. Change can happen, if the power of knowledge is spread. Natalia R.
Taking drugs is bad, but not knowing what drug you are truly taking is cruel! New drugs like "spice" are being smuggled in the US with false descriptions. These drugs coming from China can be bought as legal substances by underage children causing; psychosis, hallucinations, seizures and even suicides! Since the drugs are chemically produced, the ban of each individual chemical is being regulated but as soon as one chemical is banned, another chemical is created to substitute it. This topic can be related to functionalists. China, the provider of these drugs,do not see the issue with these drugs as US citizens do. China knows that drugs have been impacting minors for years now and feel taking real drugs does not differ from taking synthetic drugs. Drugs are bad, no matter which one you take, they all have negative effects. This topic is crucial because China decides to mimic "marijuana" instead of any other drug. China knows that the US have been at a constant debate to legalizing marijuana and for that reason know more young people are open to try that drug instead of any other drug like “cocaine”. What i dislike about the synthetic drugs are that, these drugs actually have a mixture of worse drugs in them than pure marijuana itself and lack the ingredients in the packaging. I hope the US can find a way to stop if not all citizens, at least minors from consuming these drugs.
The problem presented in the video is the problem of synthetic drug’s making their way to the US. Synthetic drugs are mostly being made in labs in China and they are very easy to get hands on. From the video, these synthetic drugs can be purchased from gas stations and even online. The drugs themselves are made of very dangerous chemicals, chemicals that can land the user in the hospital and can even kill the person using the drugs. The drugs are made to replicate the highs of marijuana, meth and heroin. The federal government has tried outlawing certain chemicals that make these synthetic drugs. However, the manufacturers often change the chemical composition of the drugs to stay ahead of the government. The DEA have been cracking down on these synthetic drugs with the help of local law enforcement.
From a point of view of a functionalist perspective, a functionalist might say that the deviance here is obviously the use of these synthetic drugs. The deviance could of raised from the thought of how hard the real drugs are to get compared to the synthetic drugs. The deviance can also arise from the fear of being punished for buying the real drugs, so the person opts for what they think is a legal type version of the drug.
My thoughts on this topic are that the synthetics drugs are a real problem and might turn into an unstoppable problem if we don’t do something about it soon. We have seen the problems that have arrive from drug abuse from non-synthetic drugs, imaging what would happen when people start catching on to this synthetic drug trend can only be catastrophic. I chose this topic because I think it could be a real threat to society just as how non-synthetic drug abuse has been. A solution to this problem is for the government to crack down even harder on how these drugs are getting across seas to the states. We need to ban out the online sales of these drugs and work even harder to ban out the chemicals that make these drugs. We cannot have the manufactures one step ahead of us, we have to keep banning out chemicals till the manufactures have no more legal chemicals left to make these synthetic drugs.
Substance abuse is a major social problem, mainly because of young people. Kids don't have an understanding of what they're getting themselves into once they start experimenting with drugs. They don't comprehend the consequences that are facing them, as they're taking examples from the media, music videos by popular artists and movies. They assume that by trying to smoke marijuana, they receive some kind of "cool" social status among their peers. But eventually, the regular pot-smoking becomes boring and all of the sudden they want something new, something that gives them a different effect. This then becomes a problem because at this point, kids are so lost in their lives and they feel like there's no way back. This causes a major downfall in our economy because our youth drops out of high schools and colleges, they don't pursue a higher education and they don't find work.
An interactionist would look at this and say that the interactions between people influence their behavior and how these interactions can impact society. I believe that an interactionists perspective applies to this problem because drugs are something that humans pick up from the ones they interact with, as they call it "peer pressure". Because of the influence that others have on us, We then have an influence and impact on the way society functions because of our behavior.
I chose this topic because this is something I feel very passionate about. This is a problem that leads to so many downward spirals, it effects so many people around you and many people suffer because of this problem, not just the abuser. The solution to this problem can not be stressed enough: education, education, education. We can not educate our youth enough on drugs, not just that short video in your high school health class, but real education, words from real addicts, and what drugs really do to not only your health but your life.
Drug abuse has always been a major problem for the United States. The use of illegal drugs have resulted in disastrous consequences for many individuals and their families. Some families blame their teens (person blame) for associating with the wrong people. On the other hand, some families blame the government (system blame) for not taking affirmative action against the rise in availability of illegal drugs.
A functionalist would point to China when asked about this problem. Although diplomatic relations are present among China and the United States, both countries have opposing political views. A functionalist would consider these imported synthetic drugs as a form of destruction to the social infrastructure of United States by the Chinese government. These malicious synthetic drugs function as way of corrupting teens before they reach adulthood.
Although conspicuously labeled not for human consumption, it is obvious these illegal drugs are being imported by the masses to cause harm to American teens. The importing of such chemicals to make synthetic drugs is a well thought plan when considering the fact that the chemical ingredients are changed as soon as a previously used chemical is recognized and banned by the United States government. This conflict can be effectively and efficiently solved only through peaceful dialogue with the Chinese government.
In response to Amanda G's blog post, I agree with what she wrote when she states that the government can only do so much to stop the consumption of illicit drugs. It stood out to me how she was confused about the initial purpose of this product because it seemed obvious to me that makers marketed it as innocent incense and labeled the packages "Not for human consumption" when in reality that is presumably what they wanted people to do. I chose to comment on her response because I liked the example she gave with how drugs haven't stopped coming in from Mexico, no matter how much the DEA tries to fight it. I think this is a great topic because it is problem that needs to be brought to our attention, especially to parents, because this new drug has already harmed our youth, sometimes leading to death, and could be really dangerous for anyone's health in the future considering the fact that we hardly know anything about it so far. A symbolic interactionist would say the reason for this problem lies within what people perceive the product to be. The way the makers market the product makes the public think the product is safe to use. The product also being legal does not have a bad stigma attached to it which leads to a false sense of security when it comes to consuming the drug. I agree with Amanda's proposed solutions and think educating children on the effects of the new drug is the best way, lowering the consumption of it, and this is absolutely possible. Being a college student today, I understand how it's not uncommon to hear about any of my peers using drugs. I know people who have admitted to me that they have used "Spice", and most of the time the only reason was because they couldn't smoke marijuana since they were being drug tested for their job or whatever the reason might've been. Since spice is fairly new, it does not show up on drug tests only because modern drug tests simply don't test for the substance. Spice mimics the effects of marijuana so they could resort to this new drug without the risk of it registering. On this note my proposed solution is to as a society become more acceptant of the use of marijuana so that people don't have to resort to other dangerous drugs.
According to "Arik" Substance Abuse is a huge problem in the United states. I agree with your response that Synthetic drugs are harmful to the younger generation. What stood out in my perspective was that it was loud and a clear that we have to look out for the younger teens this chemicals that the Chinese government are using illegal in the United States and harming all of us if its not the people consuming its there family watching it happen to them.
A conflict theorists would say that would argue that this synthetic drug is spreading because of the lack of failure in our government control in stopping these drugs from coming in in the United states. By them not stopping this there letting our teens and adults be exposed to this chemicals that can harm them mentally. Also by making it easy for these minors to obtain them just from a down the street liquor store and a click on a button on the internet needs to be stopped ASAP. This gives some individuals more power than others like the Chinese government there not effected we are.
I think your solution is good but needs more action the Chinese government does not care about our people so action is necessary. The import of these drugs need to be stopped effectively as of today. A proposed solution can be to have the DEA take control and check everything that's imported from China to insure that nothing can harm our people especially our teens. Also to have the Chinese government and United states to negotiate to resolve this.
I chose Natalia’s blog entry because I agree on what she wrote. The wide spread epidemic of weed and other sorts of drugs has been going on for decades. Whether it’s from Mexico or China the exports of drugs to America will always occur because of its high demand. Most people who abuse drugs really don’t care what form it comes as long as it’s cheap and gives them the high they want so the DA can’t really control all the illegal cases. A functionalist would say that because China is providing these chemical substances to the United States as a cheaper alternative it would therefore result to more distribution and addiction of these substances for consumers making more profit for China. Natalia said that a solution to this problem would be to educate young adults to know how toxic this substance is through schools and education and I agree with this for it is possible, but also but I would propose further solutions. I would add that treatment and mental health regulations should also be enforced. The start of drugs whether they are synthetic or not always come from the mental health of that individual. Once the individual intakes the synthetic drug, it seems to have dire consequences. The mother of a child who used this synthetic drug reported that her son was not normal anymore due to the substance, so advising people ahead of time of the sorts of problems that can occur, will put some sort of fear inside of them to not even want to try it out.
I do agree with Evelina’s post about children being influenced by others because of curiosity. I do agree that the media influences children especially Youtube because trendy challenges are posted by young peers and others mimic them like the cinnamon challenge, or drinking hand sanitizer to see the “funny” reaction. Adolescents do not realize the consequences of the marijuana or synthetic drugs because these drugs can ruin their future endeavors. Like Evelina said if an interactionist was looking at this social problem, the trendy synthetic drug would be a high demand among peers that would influence others because they can get the “higher feeling” of the drug. I think this social problem would add to the federal governments list of drugs to confiscate or charge if it is on his or her possession. This social problem leads to an individual damage because he or she that utilizes this drug leads to addiction, prison, mental health, or death that they mentioned on the clip. It would lead to a social damage because if synthetic drug users are addicted they might harm someone by committing a crime like stealing or physically assaulting someone because they are not in their mental state of mind. Conflict theorist would look at this social problem as for an individual who is selling would look at it as quick money. Those who are being affected by this problem are the adolescents who are being bought that this synthetic drug would give them the right “high” that they want. Those who are profiting from this are the sellers who are supplying those who are in need of the synthetic drug. Since it is becoming a trend among adolescents, sellers gain fast money. At the same time, they are harming those drug abusers without even caring what the outcome of the drug. The abusers would recommend their sellers that he or she has the trendy drug and harm others with the drugs. I think the proposed solution is realistic but I just think that a person who decides to use the synthetic drug is making his or her own decision. As much as an advocate wants to educate someone who has been through it and show them the effects of the drugs, the curiosity of humans would still kick in. My proposed solution would be to have federal government involvement with the synthetic drugs. This should be added to the list of things that police would confiscate when it is in the hands of people. A bill that would make the synthetic drugs a felony because these drugs would harm the society. My solution would alleviate the social problem because the drug would be away in the streets. At least the police officers would be on the lookout for these drugs. The society would be aware of this social problem that these synthetic drugs are harms to our society.
I agree with Natalia's response because as she says marijuana has been around for many years and it will never stop being a problem. She mentions about the synthetic drugs and that stood out to me because annually society has proved that it's easy to come up with different illegal narcotics. Our society has turned this into a social norm which is extremely dangerous.
A Interactionist theorist would see this issue as a problem of socialization. As Natalia explained this is a problem in different age groups especially teenagers. Teenagers today are surrounded by people in their age group which are hooked on drugs and are easily persuaded to try them for themselves Many teenagers today are influenced by the actions of their friends. in our society today it is common for teenagers to use illegal substances and these acts influence people around them. This brings me to the idea of peer pressure in today's society. Cooley's idea of The looking Glass self which explains that a person's self develops from the perceptions and interactions of others has a huge toll in today's society. As Mead explains, our self develops from the interactions we take part of on a daily basis.
I agree with Natalia when she proposes the idea about educating young adults. I believe that the best education comes from their parents. Parents are considered to be the number one agents of socialization to their children and I believe that they can make a big difference in the choices their children make. I believe that the involvement of parents would be a better solution to this social problem. by Sharon L.
According to Kevin synthetic drugs are making there way here to the US. I do in fact agree with him on that because I see them for myself when ever I walk into a smoke shop or liquor store here in my own community. I chose to comment on this topic because in today’s world a lot of young Adults and kids are finding them self’s in a position in which the people they know are using some type of drug, I can relate to that. This is a problem because these synthetic drugs are affecting are youth that means these drugs are affecting the future of our society, what stood out to me in Kevin’s blog is when he mentioned that synthetic drugs are a problem that could turn into an unstoppable one. That’s very much true these synthetic drugs are imitations of other popular drugs, marijuana for example is now a highly popular drug among young teens and adults. One could go into a smoke shop with the intent of purchasing marijuana and un knowingly end up with a chemically induced substance smoke it then wake up in the hospital.
This reflects on one of the four elements of a social problem, individual and social damage. An individual could be high off one of these hallucinogens and afflict damage to there society in a very negative way also. A conflict theorist would see this as a struggle between two groups, the manufactures and the authorities. The manufactures are doing what ever it takes to get there drug into the states so that they can continue to make money witch always results in more power, Then you have the authorities who are using every bit of power and recourses they have, to stop the manufactures from getting there drugs in. A conflict theorist may also see this problem on a macro scale if it continues to affect society because over time this problem will accumulate more and more into bigger social issue.
I think Kevin’s solution is on the right track the government needs to really crack down on the online purchasing of this drug and the shipping of it I agree with him. Most of the solution he suggested is possible how ever there’s nothing the government could do about the chemicals because the manufactures are always just changing them, so with that said the best way to stop them from harming are society with this drug is for are government to crack down on the distribution of it
Drugs have always been a problem, not just in the United States but all over the world. They are easy to get and its extremely easy to fall victim to addiction. Synthetic drugs are even more easy to make and since they're being introduced to young kids, pretty soon, the demand will go up, and even more teens could get addicted. From the video itself, it shows how dangerous those drugs are, resulting in three deaths already.
From a conflict theorist prospective, they would see the problem is coming from those making the drugs and those buying the drugs. Those that make and sell the drugs know its easy money and have disregard the people they'll be putting in danger. Those buying the drugs feel both the need to get high because of their addiction and also because of their need to fit in. It is a chain that never ends.
I agree with Kevin's comment that we need to stop the problem before it spreads even wider because the drugs will become even more widespread. Though the government cracking down on the problem would help, I think its also important to educate the high-risk groups like the kids who might be in danger of falling victim to those types of drugs.
I Disagree with Alti's response. I agree that drugs are bad, but to say that they dont know what they are taking is false. The people are well aware of what they are taking or dont care about it at that point because they are too far into their addiction. I am confused as to why you feel that china giving drugs to the US is the worlds largest drug problem. Drugs are smuggled and sold all over the globe, and we as a country produce and sell our own drugs. The fact that substances coming from china are infecting our addicts is not as relivant. Instead of just zoning in on the drugs from china, what about the drugs not only from there but Mexico, Russia, Brazil, Africa ect. No matter how many rules and regulations our country puts on drugs or even the United Nations does, drugs will never fail to be produced and sold. With saying that, the only fair way to say that we could stop drug abuse from happening is educating our youth in all countries. The youth of the world is told to "not do drugs, because their bad" but its our responsibility to explain the exact concequences as to why they are bad. Medical Marijuana has been in debate for a while in this country. But America is home to the worlds largest tabacco companies, owning the largest tabacco property. If Medical marijuana were to be legalized and sold to our average population. All of the Tabacco companies are completely ready and waiting to grow all their own marijuana , in saying America would be the marijuana superpower. China would buy from us and we would no longer have use for marijuana smuggling into this country.
I do not agree with this being a functionalist perspective, coming from a interactionalist perspective. I say this because I believe that drug use is influenced behavior, normally seen starting in teens and young adults. I believe that these interactions impact the way that society works. The way money is flowed, the way kids are doing academically, and the health care system. Humans are animals we crave interaction ad acceptance, but becasue drugs circulate throughout the youth community, that craving for acceptance commonly leads to drug abuse. These acts activly influence everyday social interactions.
According to Natalie’s opinion, Synthetic pot will soon be common like other narcotics. The solution proposed by her is to educate our students about the drugs to prevent abuse and I agree with Natalie’s proposal of having the DEA educate the youth. Drug dependency is a persistent problem that has many proposed solutions but the most commonly suggested is education. I am interested in this topic because I had actually seen a couple of these synthetic drugs sold at my local gas station. The fact that these drugs are being ingested while clearly stating otherwise proves it is a social problem. The sale of these controlled substances harms the individual user as well as their peers and the persistence of this harm is some of the reasons why it is a social problem. By focusing on this issue through an interactionalist’s lens, one should account for the individual’s personal history and whether or not drug abuse in the family is prevailing. An interactionlist should also consider if the person’s basic needs are met according to Maslow’s Hierarchy. After analyzing the needs, I would make a conclusion if the persons drug problem stem from lack of resources or a larger problem. This idea of drug awareness is not in any way novel and the technique of conveying the message through PowerPoint presentations are outdated. The presentations and information of these education programs have virtually remained unchanged for decades. A new way to engage students in drug awareness would to bring in participants, preferably recovering addicts, to recount their first hand experiences with the drug. This would give a better perspective of how drug abuse begins and how it ends.
In response to Evelins's comment I agree with her that "kids don't know the understanding of what they are getting themselves into when once they start experimenting with drgus". Substance abuse has become a widespread problem not only in the United States but all around the world. Now a days it his easier for young people to get access to drugs. You just have to "know somebody". One of the main reasons why young people end up using drugs is due to peer presure, because all their friends are doing drugs and it's the cool thing to do. But the dont understand the affects of taking drugs even when you've only done it once. A conflict theorists would say that because there substancce abuse in society is due to lacy of authority from the governement, not enough control, a lack of power and limited resources. I agree with Evelina that one of the solutions is education. To constanltly educated young people of the cause and affects of using drugs. It is not enough for them to say "doing drugs is bad". Another solution is for the Drug Enforcement Agency to crack down on drugs and have stricter regulations and and even bigger consequence when caught with illegal drugs. Macy M.
Yes I do agree with Natalia, growing up marijuana has been a casually used substance that people are doing out in the open they no longer hide, even if you can smell it a mile away. There is a possibility synthetic drugs have been around for a while but they have been kept very secretive to whom it’s sold and how it is sold. I agree it is a social problem because if this synthetic drug is used daily it could lead on over dose or even lead to committing a crime. Such as killing or hurting a loved one or even a stranger.
Seeing both the functionalist and interactionist perspectives, there are several imperfections such as addiction and how people sell the substance to make. Society as a whole is whom can take responsibility and be able to make a difference for a better future or worse. I agree, her solution is possible but would take a while to bring out the DEA to school and teach students about this synthetic drug or even any other drug. Another solution would be bring back the D.A.R.E program. It will as well be a great help because when I was younger I did recall having the D.A.R.E program (drug, abuse, resistance, education program). They would come and teach students of what drugs did to you, how you can avoid it, and what you can do in case you see someone acting different (overdose).
The presence of synthetic drugs in the United States is indeed a problem we are facing. Kevin made a number of good arguments in his blog, particularly on the consequences of synthetic drug use and I would agree that we should focus our efforts on banning the chemicals and online sales that help yield the synthetic drugs. His perspective and resulting analysis was both comprehensible and logical which is why I chose to respond. Synthetic drug use is a fairly new trend that came to light after a number of gruesome, high profile cases in the news. The consequences from using as Kevin pointed out, are devastating. Users are affected and the public is in potential danger. Now more than ever is the time to to raise awareness and implement solutions.
A conflict theorist would see how the unequal distribution of resources has played a role in this situation. A conflict theorist would link synthetic drug users to be a population that does not have enough resources to access better health care, education or even "real" drugs so instead, they opt for synthetic drugs. A conflict theorist could even argue that the manufacturers that work so hard to keep these drugs on the market, evading the law in the process, are similar to the bourgeoise in that they persist in selling these drugs and chemicals as as to remain in power, financially and philosophically.
As mentioned earlier, I do agree with Kevin's solution to focus our attention on our imports and find out how the chemicals are able to pass through our doors. I would also propose we implement more preventive measures too. One way we could do so is by enacting much more harsh and devastating penalties on manufacturers trying to evade the law and online merchants participating in sales. By tackling the source, this could potentially stop distribution all together. Also, on the same token of preventative measures, we could raise awareness of the consequences of synthetic drug use through education in schools, hospitals, clinics, etc. The video also mentioned that law enforcement has had trouble keeping up with the kind of chemicals being used for the drugs because manufactures are altering them. I would say that we should consider allocating a portion of our resources to pair more science and research with law enforcement so that we may crack down on the suppliers much better.
18 comments:
I don't quite understand the original use of this product. I don't understand the conflicting label "Synthetic pot," but on the package itself, it states that it is not for human consumption.
With that, what I can say is that government regulation will do very little to help this social problem. It won’t stop the Chinese from selling their drugs, just as it hasn't stop the Mexicans selling their drugs in the US. Government regulation has not stopped drug trafficking.
The only thing I can see making a difference is continuing police work on the country wide crackdown. The DA just needs to keep doing what they are doing to minimize the drugs in the US. Unfortunately, this problem will never go away.
Another solution, in my opinion, is to continue to educate our kids. Just like the contemporary school's sex education, we need to continue to educate our kids about drugs. Just like a biology class, as new data arrives, we need to be open and share with our kids.
Amanda G
9/17/2013
The social problem with marijuana has been around for many years, especially between kids in different age groups. This drug has been coming in and out of schools and has not been stopped yet. Now that this synthetic drug has came about, the same issues will continue to happen.
A conflict theorist might look at this situation and evaluate it as certain groups of individuals try these substances to feel like they are connected to their surroundings or groups. An individual can feel pressured to fit in with a group, therefore, he/she tries to fit in by using this synthetic drug. Also, a conflict theorist can say that the government should try their hardest to educate groups of young adults the dangers and effects of the use of synthetic drugs.
A solution to this dangerous problem can be the power to educate young adults. I personally think that the DEA should hold presentations in high schools and educate students and teachers about this toxic substance. Change can happen, if the power of knowledge is spread.
Natalia R.
Taking drugs is bad, but not knowing what drug you are truly taking is cruel!
New drugs like "spice" are being smuggled in the US with false descriptions. These drugs coming from China can be bought as legal substances by underage children causing; psychosis, hallucinations, seizures and even suicides!
Since the drugs are chemically produced, the ban of each individual chemical is being regulated but as soon as one chemical is banned, another chemical is created to substitute it.
This topic can be related to functionalists. China, the provider of these drugs,do not see the issue with these drugs as US citizens do. China knows that drugs have been impacting minors for years now and feel taking real drugs does not differ from taking synthetic drugs. Drugs are bad, no matter which one you take, they all have negative effects.
This topic is crucial because China decides to mimic "marijuana" instead of any other drug. China knows that the US have been at a constant debate to legalizing marijuana and for that reason know more young people are open to try that drug instead of any other drug like “cocaine”. What i dislike about the synthetic drugs are that, these drugs actually have a mixture of worse drugs in them than pure marijuana itself and lack the ingredients in the packaging. I hope the US can find a way to stop if not all citizens, at least minors from consuming these drugs.
The problem presented in the video is the problem of synthetic drug’s making their way to the US. Synthetic drugs are mostly being made in labs in China and they are very easy to get hands on. From the video, these synthetic drugs can be purchased from gas stations and even online. The drugs themselves are made of very dangerous chemicals, chemicals that can land the user in the hospital and can even kill the person using the drugs. The drugs are made to replicate the highs of marijuana, meth and heroin. The federal government has tried outlawing certain chemicals that make these synthetic drugs. However, the manufacturers often change the chemical composition of the drugs to stay ahead of the government. The DEA have been cracking down on these synthetic drugs with the help of local law enforcement.
From a point of view of a functionalist perspective, a functionalist might say that the deviance here is obviously the use of these synthetic drugs. The deviance could of raised from the thought of how hard the real drugs are to get compared to the synthetic drugs. The deviance can also arise from the fear of being punished for buying the real drugs, so the person opts for what they think is a legal type version of the drug.
My thoughts on this topic are that the synthetics drugs are a real problem and might turn into an unstoppable problem if we don’t do something about it soon. We have seen the problems that have arrive from drug abuse from non-synthetic drugs, imaging what would happen when people start catching on to this synthetic drug trend can only be catastrophic. I chose this topic because I think it could be a real threat to society just as how non-synthetic drug abuse has been. A solution to this problem is for the government to crack down even harder on how these drugs are getting across seas to the states. We need to ban out the online sales of these drugs and work even harder to ban out the chemicals that make these drugs. We cannot have the manufactures one step ahead of us, we have to keep banning out chemicals till the manufactures have no more legal chemicals left to make these synthetic drugs.
Substance abuse is a major social problem, mainly because of young people. Kids don't have an understanding of what they're getting themselves into once they start experimenting with drugs. They don't comprehend the consequences that are facing them, as they're taking examples from the media, music videos by popular artists and movies. They assume that by trying to smoke marijuana, they receive some kind of "cool" social status among their peers. But eventually, the regular pot-smoking becomes boring and all of the sudden they want something new, something that gives them a different effect. This then becomes a problem because at this point, kids are so lost in their lives and they feel like there's no way back. This causes a major downfall in our economy because our youth drops out of high schools and colleges, they don't pursue a higher education and they don't find work.
An interactionist would look at this and say that the interactions between people influence their behavior and how these interactions can impact society. I believe that an interactionists perspective applies to this problem because drugs are something that humans pick up from the ones they interact with, as they call it "peer pressure". Because of the influence that others have on us, We then have an influence and impact on the way society functions because of our behavior.
I chose this topic because this is something I feel very passionate about. This is a problem that leads to so many downward spirals, it effects so many people around you and many people suffer because of this problem, not just the abuser. The solution to this problem can not be stressed enough: education, education, education. We can not educate our youth enough on drugs, not just that short video in your high school health class, but real education, words from real addicts, and what drugs really do to not only your health but your life.
Drug abuse has always been a major problem for the United States. The use of illegal drugs have resulted in disastrous consequences for many individuals and their families. Some families blame their teens (person blame) for associating with the wrong people. On the other hand, some families blame the government (system blame) for not taking affirmative action against the rise in availability of illegal drugs.
A functionalist would point to China when asked about this problem. Although diplomatic relations are present among China and the United States, both countries have opposing political views. A functionalist would consider these imported synthetic drugs as a form of destruction to the social infrastructure of United States by the Chinese government. These malicious synthetic drugs function as way of corrupting teens before they reach adulthood.
Although conspicuously labeled not for human consumption, it is obvious these illegal drugs are being imported by the masses to cause harm to American teens. The importing of such chemicals to make synthetic drugs is a well thought plan when considering the fact that the chemical ingredients are changed as soon as a previously used chemical is recognized and banned by the United States government. This conflict can be effectively and efficiently solved only through peaceful dialogue with the Chinese government.
In response to Amanda G's blog post, I agree with what she wrote when she states that the government can only do so much to stop the consumption of illicit drugs. It stood out to me how she was confused about the initial purpose of this product because it seemed obvious to me that makers marketed it as innocent incense and labeled the packages "Not for human consumption" when in reality that is presumably what they wanted people to do. I chose to comment on her response because I liked the example she gave with how drugs haven't stopped coming in from Mexico, no matter how much the DEA tries to fight it. I think this is a great topic because it is problem that needs to be brought to our attention, especially to parents, because this new drug has already harmed our youth, sometimes leading to death, and could be really dangerous for anyone's health in the future considering the fact that we hardly know anything about it so far. A symbolic interactionist would say the reason for this problem lies within what people perceive the product to be. The way the makers market the product makes the public think the product is safe to use. The product also being legal does not have a bad stigma attached to it which leads to a false sense of security when it comes to consuming the drug. I agree with Amanda's proposed solutions and think educating children on the effects of the new drug is the best way, lowering the consumption of it, and this is absolutely possible. Being a college student today, I understand how it's not uncommon to hear about any of my peers using drugs. I know people who have admitted to me that they have used "Spice", and most of the time the only reason was because they couldn't smoke marijuana since they were being drug tested for their job or whatever the reason might've been. Since spice is fairly new, it does not show up on drug tests only because modern drug tests simply don't test for the substance. Spice mimics the effects of marijuana so they could resort to this new drug without the risk of it registering. On this note my proposed solution is to as a society become more acceptant of the use of marijuana so that people don't have to resort to other dangerous drugs.
According to "Arik" Substance Abuse is a huge problem in the United states. I agree with your response that Synthetic drugs are harmful to the younger generation. What stood out in my perspective was that it was loud and a clear that we have to look out for the younger teens this chemicals that the Chinese government are using illegal in the United States and harming all of us if its not the people consuming its there family watching it happen to them.
A conflict theorists would say that would argue that this synthetic drug is spreading because of the lack of failure in our government control in stopping these drugs from coming in in the United states. By them not stopping this there letting our teens and adults be exposed to this chemicals that can harm them mentally. Also by making it easy for these minors to obtain them just from a down the street liquor store and a click on a button on the internet needs to be stopped ASAP. This gives some individuals more power than others like the Chinese government there not effected we are.
I think your solution is good but needs more action the Chinese government does not care about our people so action is necessary. The import of these drugs need to be stopped effectively as of today. A proposed solution can be to have the DEA take control and check everything that's imported from China to insure that nothing can harm our people especially our teens. Also to have the Chinese government and United states to negotiate to resolve this.
By Julian T...
I chose Natalia’s blog entry because I agree on what she wrote. The wide spread epidemic of weed and other sorts of drugs has been going on for decades. Whether it’s from Mexico or China the exports of drugs to America will always occur because of its high demand. Most people who abuse drugs really don’t care what form it comes as long as it’s cheap and gives them the high they want so the DA can’t really control all the illegal cases. A functionalist would say that because China is providing these chemical substances to the United States as a cheaper alternative it would therefore result to more distribution and addiction of these substances for consumers making more profit for China. Natalia said that a solution to this problem would be to educate young adults to know how toxic this substance is through schools and education and I agree with this for it is possible, but also but I would propose further solutions. I would add that treatment and mental health regulations should also be enforced. The start of drugs whether they are synthetic or not always come from the mental health of that individual. Once the individual intakes the synthetic drug, it seems to have dire consequences. The mother of a child who used this synthetic drug reported that her son was not normal anymore due to the substance, so advising people ahead of time of the sorts of problems that can occur, will put some sort of fear inside of them to not even want to try it out.
I do agree with Evelina’s post about children being influenced by others because of curiosity. I do agree that the media influences children especially Youtube because trendy challenges are posted by young peers and others mimic them like the cinnamon challenge, or drinking hand sanitizer to see the “funny” reaction. Adolescents do not realize the consequences of the marijuana or synthetic drugs because these drugs can ruin their future endeavors. Like Evelina said if an interactionist was looking at this social problem, the trendy synthetic drug would be a high demand among peers that would influence others because they can get the “higher feeling” of the drug. I think this social problem would add to the federal governments list of drugs to confiscate or charge if it is on his or her possession. This social problem leads to an individual damage because he or she that utilizes this drug leads to addiction, prison, mental health, or death that they mentioned on the clip. It would lead to a social damage because if synthetic drug users are addicted they might harm someone by committing a crime like stealing or physically assaulting someone because they are not in their mental state of mind.
Conflict theorist would look at this social problem as for an individual who is selling would look at it as quick money. Those who are being affected by this problem are the adolescents who are being bought that this synthetic drug would give them the right “high” that they want. Those who are profiting from this are the sellers who are supplying those who are in need of the synthetic drug. Since it is becoming a trend among adolescents, sellers gain fast money. At the same time, they are harming those drug abusers without even caring what the outcome of the drug. The abusers would recommend their sellers that he or she has the trendy drug and harm others with the drugs.
I think the proposed solution is realistic but I just think that a person who decides to use the synthetic drug is making his or her own decision. As much as an advocate wants to educate someone who has been through it and show them the effects of the drugs, the curiosity of humans would still kick in. My proposed solution would be to have federal government involvement with the synthetic drugs. This should be added to the list of things that police would confiscate when it is in the hands of people. A bill that would make the synthetic drugs a felony because these drugs would harm the society. My solution would alleviate the social problem because the drug would be away in the streets. At least the police officers would be on the lookout for these drugs. The society would be aware of this social problem that these synthetic drugs are harms to our society.
I agree with Natalia's response because as she says marijuana has been around for many years and it will never stop being a problem. She mentions about the synthetic drugs and that stood out to me because annually society has proved that it's easy to come up with different illegal narcotics. Our society has turned this into a social norm which is extremely dangerous.
A Interactionist theorist would see this issue as a problem of socialization. As Natalia explained this is a problem in different age groups especially teenagers. Teenagers today are surrounded by people in their age group which are hooked on drugs and are easily persuaded to try them for themselves Many teenagers today are influenced by the actions of their friends. in our society today it is common for teenagers to use illegal substances and these acts influence people around them. This brings me to the idea of peer pressure in today's society. Cooley's idea of The looking Glass self which explains that a person's self develops from the perceptions and interactions of others has a huge toll in today's society. As Mead explains, our self develops from the interactions we take part of on a daily basis.
I agree with Natalia when she proposes the idea about educating young adults. I believe that the best education comes from their parents. Parents are considered to be the number one agents of socialization to their children and I believe that they can make a big difference in the choices their children make. I believe that the involvement of parents would be a better solution to this social
problem.
by Sharon L.
According to Kevin synthetic drugs are making there way here to the US. I do in fact agree with him on that because I see them for myself when ever I walk into a smoke shop or liquor store here in my own community. I chose to comment on this topic because in today’s world a lot of young Adults and kids are finding them self’s in a position in which the people they know are using some type of drug, I can relate to that. This is a problem because these synthetic drugs are affecting are youth that means these drugs are affecting the future of our society, what stood out to me in Kevin’s blog is when he mentioned that synthetic drugs are a problem that could turn into an unstoppable one. That’s very much true these synthetic drugs are imitations of other popular drugs, marijuana for example is now a highly popular drug among young teens and adults. One could go into a smoke shop with the intent of purchasing marijuana and un knowingly end up with a chemically induced substance smoke it then wake up in the hospital.
This reflects on one of the four elements of a social problem, individual and social damage. An individual could be high off one of these hallucinogens and afflict damage to there society in a very negative way also. A conflict theorist would see this as a struggle between two groups, the manufactures and the authorities. The manufactures are doing what ever it takes to get there drug into the states so that they can continue to make money witch always results in more power, Then you have the authorities who are using every bit of power and recourses they have, to stop the manufactures from getting there drugs in. A conflict theorist may also see this problem on a macro scale if it continues to affect society because over time this problem will accumulate more and more into bigger social issue.
I think Kevin’s solution is on the right track the government needs to really crack down on the online purchasing of this drug and the shipping of it I agree with him. Most of the solution he suggested is possible how ever there’s nothing the government could do about the chemicals because the manufactures are always just changing them, so with that said the best way to stop them from harming are society with this drug is for are government to crack down on the distribution of it
by; Malaki D.
Drugs have always been a problem, not just in the United States but all over the world. They are easy to get and its extremely easy to fall victim to addiction. Synthetic drugs are even more easy to make and since they're being introduced to young kids, pretty soon, the demand will go up, and even more teens could get addicted. From the video itself, it shows how dangerous those drugs are, resulting in three deaths already.
From a conflict theorist prospective, they would see the problem is coming from those making the drugs and those buying the drugs. Those that make and sell the drugs know its easy money and have disregard the people they'll be putting in danger. Those buying the drugs feel both the need to get high because of their addiction and also because of their need to fit in. It is a chain that never ends.
I agree with Kevin's comment that we need to stop the problem before it spreads even wider because the drugs will become even more widespread. Though the government cracking down on the problem would help, I think its also important to educate the high-risk groups like the kids who might be in danger of falling victim to those types of drugs.
I Disagree with Alti's response. I agree that drugs are bad, but to say that they dont know what they are taking is false. The people are well aware of what they are taking or dont care about it at that point because they are too far into their addiction. I am confused as to why you feel that china giving drugs to the US is the worlds largest drug problem. Drugs are smuggled and sold all over the globe, and we as a country produce and sell our own drugs. The fact that substances coming from china are infecting our addicts is not as relivant. Instead of just zoning in on the drugs from china, what about the drugs not only from there but Mexico, Russia, Brazil, Africa ect. No matter how many rules and regulations our country puts on drugs or even the United Nations does, drugs will never fail to be produced and sold. With saying that, the only fair way to say that we could stop drug abuse from happening is educating our youth in all countries. The youth of the world is told to "not do drugs, because their bad" but its our responsibility to explain the exact concequences as to why they are bad. Medical Marijuana has been in debate for a while in this country. But America is home to the worlds largest tabacco companies, owning the largest tabacco property. If Medical marijuana were to be legalized and sold to our average population. All of the Tabacco companies are completely ready and waiting to grow all their own marijuana , in saying America would be the marijuana superpower. China would buy from us and we would no longer have use for marijuana smuggling into this country.
I do not agree with this being a functionalist perspective, coming from a interactionalist perspective. I say this because I believe that drug use is influenced behavior, normally seen starting in teens and young adults. I believe that these interactions impact the way that society works. The way money is flowed, the way kids are doing academically, and the health care system. Humans are animals we crave interaction ad acceptance, but becasue drugs circulate throughout the youth community, that craving for acceptance commonly leads to drug abuse. These acts activly influence everyday social interactions.
According to Natalie’s opinion, Synthetic pot will soon be common like other narcotics. The solution proposed by her is to educate our students about the drugs to prevent abuse and I agree with Natalie’s proposal of having the DEA educate the youth. Drug dependency is a persistent problem that has many proposed solutions but the most commonly suggested is education. I am interested in this topic because I had actually seen a couple of these synthetic drugs sold at my local gas station. The fact that these drugs are being ingested while clearly stating otherwise proves it is a social problem. The sale of these controlled substances harms the individual user as well as their peers and the persistence of this harm is some of the reasons why it is a social problem.
By focusing on this issue through an interactionalist’s lens, one should account for the individual’s personal history and whether or not drug abuse in the family is prevailing. An interactionlist should also consider if the person’s basic needs are met according to Maslow’s Hierarchy. After analyzing the needs, I would make a conclusion if the persons drug problem stem from lack of resources or a larger problem.
This idea of drug awareness is not in any way novel and the technique of conveying the message through PowerPoint presentations are outdated. The presentations and information of these education programs have virtually remained unchanged for decades. A new way to engage students in drug awareness would to bring in participants, preferably recovering addicts, to recount their first hand experiences with the drug. This would give a better perspective of how drug abuse begins and how it ends.
In response to Evelins's comment I agree with her that "kids don't know the understanding of what they are getting themselves into when once they start experimenting with drgus". Substance abuse has become a widespread problem not only in the United States but all around the world. Now a days it his easier for young people to get access to drugs. You just have to "know somebody". One of the main reasons why young people end up using drugs is due to peer presure, because all their friends are doing drugs and it's the cool thing to do. But the dont understand the affects of taking drugs even when you've only done it once. A conflict theorists would say that because there substancce abuse in society is due to lacy of authority from the governement, not enough control, a lack of power and limited resources. I agree with Evelina that one of the solutions is education. To constanltly educated young people of the cause and affects of using drugs. It is not enough for them to say "doing drugs is bad". Another solution is for the Drug Enforcement Agency to crack down on drugs and have stricter regulations and and even bigger consequence when caught with illegal drugs.
Macy M.
Yes I do agree with Natalia, growing up marijuana has been a casually used substance that people are doing out in the open they no longer hide, even if you can smell it a mile away. There is a possibility synthetic drugs have been around for a while but they have been kept very secretive to whom it’s sold and how it is sold. I agree it is a social problem because if this synthetic drug is used daily it could lead on over dose or even lead to committing a crime. Such as killing or hurting a loved one or even a stranger.
Seeing both the functionalist and interactionist perspectives, there are several imperfections such as addiction and how people sell the substance to make. Society as a whole is whom can take responsibility and be able to make a difference for a better future or worse.
I agree, her solution is possible but would take a while to bring out the DEA to school and teach students about this synthetic drug or even any other drug. Another solution would be bring back the D.A.R.E program. It will as well be a great help because when I was younger I did recall having the D.A.R.E program (drug, abuse, resistance, education program). They would come and teach students of what drugs did to you, how you can avoid it, and what you can do in case you see someone acting different (overdose).
In response to Kevin N.'s blog:
The presence of synthetic drugs in the United States is indeed a problem we are facing. Kevin made a number of good arguments in his blog, particularly on the consequences of synthetic drug use and I would agree that we should focus our efforts on banning the chemicals and online sales that help yield the synthetic drugs. His perspective and resulting analysis was both comprehensible and logical which is why I chose to respond. Synthetic drug use is a fairly new trend that came to light after a number of gruesome, high profile cases in the news. The consequences from using as Kevin pointed out, are devastating. Users are affected and the public is in potential danger. Now more than ever is the time to to raise awareness and implement solutions.
A conflict theorist would see how the unequal distribution of resources has played a role in this situation. A conflict theorist would link synthetic drug users to be a population that does not have enough resources to access better health care, education or even "real" drugs so instead, they opt for synthetic drugs. A conflict theorist could even argue that the manufacturers that work so hard to keep these drugs on the market, evading the law in the process, are similar to the bourgeoise in that they persist in selling these drugs and chemicals as as to remain in power, financially and philosophically.
As mentioned earlier, I do agree with Kevin's solution to focus our attention on our imports and find out how the chemicals are able to pass through our doors. I would also propose we implement more preventive measures too. One way we could do so is by enacting much more harsh and devastating penalties on manufacturers trying to evade the law and online merchants participating in sales. By tackling the source, this could potentially stop distribution all together. Also, on the same token of preventative measures, we could raise awareness of the consequences of synthetic drug use through education in schools, hospitals, clinics, etc. The video also mentioned that law enforcement has had trouble keeping up with the kind of chemicals being used for the drugs because manufactures are altering them. I would say that we should consider allocating a portion of our resources to pair more science and research with law enforcement so that we may crack down on the suppliers much better.
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