Social Challenges facing British Columbia

Running head: SOCIAL CHALLENGES FACING BRISTISH COLUMBIA
Social Challenges facing British Columbia
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SOCIAL CHALLENGES FACING BRISTISH COLUMBIA 2
Introduction
A social challenge can be defined as a problem that people interact with in the
community while engaging with their normal social behavior. According to Dong, Kerr, and
Debeck (2017), dealing with the social challenges in the society often calls for constant growing
strategies from grassroots initiatives recognized by the government, organizations, and policy
makers at different community levels. Such strategies are adopted as vital ways of tackling the
increasingly-complex environmental and social challenges faced by the society. However, the
effectiveness of these strategies depends on the knowledge and awareness of the social challenge
facing a community, its causes, and the most effective solutions that can be adopted to curb its
challenges.
Like in other developed countries, Columbia has a stable economy that most people
consider a good life level making the country one of the best regions of residence in Europe.
However, the stability of the societies therein is facing challenges from different social
disruptions. According to Niederdeppe, Avery, and Miller (2018), the global social stability is
facing great challenges from the past decade from financial crisis, political volatility, increasing
pace of technological change, and changes in the life styles. These factors are a great threat to the
social order of the society in different parts of the world including Columbia. The development
of digital technology is a good example of such a disruption as it deepens the existing
inequalities. This essay evaluates drug addiction as a social challenge affecting the British
Columbia with a major focus on alcoholism.
The use of drugs and its alarming addiction in British Columbia is a chronic complication
associated with violence, persistent criminal behavior, health problems, and family discords. A

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study conducted by the Canadian Center on Substance Abuse (CCSA) documents alarming facts
on alcohol and drug addiction in Columbia. From the study, approximately 5 % of the British
Columbians are ingle drinkers who have adopted a regular consumption of alcohol and are drug
dependent. The report also indicates that 1% of the population also use illicit drugs. According to
Kelly (2019), many researchers point out different causes of alcohol addiction not only in
Columbia but globally. The same study denotes that approximately 50% of an individual risk for
the addiction tends to be tied with their genetic makeup. However, other factors come into play
such as physical health, upbringing, emotions, and social cycle of an individual. Substantial
evidence also indicates that excessive use of alcohol is linked to risky behaviors and related
mental challenges that different from one gender to another. These include international and non-
intentional trauma, family violence, road accidents, suicidal cases, sexually-health risk
behaviors, and other forms of social violence (Kalema, Vindevogel, & Vanderplasschen, 2019).
The study denotes that all these factors occur frequently among the addicts and are considered by
the Colombian government as public health challenges related to heavy use of alcohol.
Kelly (2019) denotes that alcohol is the most commonly abused drug in the region. The
use is stimulated by the privatization of the liquor distribution hence giving space for more
corner stores. Such stores can acquire license for its distribution, an aspect that makes alcohol
much close to 100% availability at all times. It is estimated that one out of every eight
Colombian adults is struggling with alcohol addiction and nearly one out of five Columbians
under the age of thirty is an alcohol addict. Despite the prevalence of its consumption, there is no
specific explanation some of the alcohol drinkers develop addiction while others do not (Mulyk
& Striltsiv, 2019). Therefore, health practitioners and drug addiction specialists describes it as

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sort of an insidious process as there are variety of social and psychological factors that come by
it hence creating a situation where the entire social cycle of the addict tend to be supportive of
fellow drinkers. In the process, they lose friends who are non-drinkers and feel offending by the
alcoholic behavior but maintain friends who are tolerant. It hence comes with a psychological
response and neurological changes that make them rely on alcohol for coping.
Even though Columbia tends to have a stable economy than other developing countries, it
has a very high alcohol per capita consumption and high prevalence of heavy episodic drinking
among the addicts (Hirschman & McGriff, 2011). It is used by people of all socioeconomic
groups and ages and the drinking behavior starts from as early as the adolescence age. Those in
the lower economic status mainly among the aboriginal groups with lower socio-economic status
tend to be more vulnerable to very tangible challenges and related consequences of alcohol
addiction.
Schilling and Sachs (2017) denote that majority of the alcohol addicts drink because they
love how it makes them feel; less inhibited, happier, and more relaxed. The biological
explanation behind this is that when one drinks, the liquor triggers a feel-good chemical similar
to endorphins of the body cells that bind to opiate the body receptors in the brain making them to
create a sense of euphoria. Consuming alcohol also slows down the activities in the brain as it is
a depressant to the central nervous system. The resulting impacts are slurred speech, loss of
coordination, site impairments, and slowed reaction times among other impairments commonly
seen when one is intoxicated. With continuous drinking and exposure to alcohol, the chemistry
of the brain changes as it struggles to compensate for these effects hence causing addiction
(Yaogo, Fombonne, Lert, & Melchior, 2015). The optimal functionality of the brain relies on a