Substance Use and Society: Historical, Contemporary, and UK Analysis

This report provides a comprehensive overview of substance use and its societal impact. It begins with an introduction defining substance use and its harmful effects, followed by a discussion of historical and contemporary perspectives on drug use, exploring various theories of addiction, and analyzing the reasons behind addiction, including peer pressure, mental health issues, and broken families. The report then examines attitudes toward drug use, government responses, and the link between music and drugs, particularly in the United Kingdom. It includes prevalent rates of drug use, models of drug use, and concludes by emphasizing the need for awareness and support to address this critical issue. The report highlights the devastating consequences of drug addiction, including health risks, legal issues, and the breakdown of social structures. The report also touches upon the impact of music and media on the perception of drug use.

SUBSTANCE USE
AND SOCIETY

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................3
MAIN BODY...................................................................................................................................3
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................7
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................8

INTRODUCTION
Substance use is when there is an intake of drugs which are not lawful in society. In take
of drugs is a very harmful situation which people are causing for themselves. There is large
number of audience those who are addicted to drug taking which is not a good behavior and are
causing a lot of difficulty for world. There are a lot of drugs which are being provided to people
like cocaine, opioid, inhalants, cannabis, etc and that is making society in world not have a better
future day for themselves. Drugs are causing a limitation on the people because of the addiction
level in them in such a way that they are not being able to think distinctly before doing anything.
Health factor of people are at risk which can be a worry for government of countries.
There are a lot of criminal laws, public health and medical health centre which have been
opened to help such addicted people. The report would be covering the different theories of
addiction, the reasons why the people are getting addicted to drugs and what are the different
attitudes to drug taking in the world. The rate of the people in United Kingdom would also be
discussed and how that can be solved in the country.
MAIN BODY
Historical and contemporary perspective of drug use
There are a lot of people who do not understand that why and how do people become
drug addict or any other addicts in general but it is very important for everyone to understand
this factor because addiction is not a good habit therefore it is required for everyone to help them
leave such habits (Rose and et.al., 2015). People who are addicts do not have the right willpower
which will make them think that they are capable of leaving this addiction for the long run. There
are a lot of reasons because of which people start to take drugs and once they feel like drugs are
doing some kind of magic on them they do not want to leave it after that. There are people who
take drugs for the after effect the drugs are giving them is the main reason why they do not want
to leave drugs and who are addicted to drugs is because they feel like drugs is only reason which
is keeping them alive with all pressure of life.
Affect of drugs on brain is that it triggers reward circuit which causes euphoria and
dopamine which is flooded with chemical messages. Long term use of drugs can spoil
functioning of a person like there learning, stress, memory, decision-making, etc (Fuller and
et.al., 2016). Reasons behind people becoming addicts is very simple for someone to understand
which are there is a lot of pressure on people and to not have pressure over them they start to

take drugs so that they feel relaxed, and they can think clearly. Even peer group pressure on
individuals is a great reason which is common in United Kingdom which is reported that addicts
started because of group they are in and that had resulted in people becoming addicts. There are a
lot of drugs which are given when people are facing anxiety, depression and other mental health
issues therefore it is very important for people to not have drugs intake at time when they are in a
problem. People who are into problems they get addicted to drugs very quickly therefore it is
very important for people to make sure that they are not being provided with any type of drug so
that they do not feel like they need only drugs to make them feel better (van Boekel and et.al.,
2015). A broken family can be another reason because of which the people start taking drugs.
There are a lot of initiatives which have been taken up by government of United
Kingdom so that they can help people who wan to be cleared but that can only be done when
addicts have willingness to be cured of their problems. Till addict is not willingly to be cleared
till then they will not be able to help each other and that is a very important factor for making an
addict be cleared out. Lack of parent's supervision on the children can also lead to this mishap of
the children therefore monitoring children sometimes is a good thing which parents can do for
their children (Schwartz and et.al., 2015). United Kingdom is a country where people are so busy
that they forget to pay attention to their children therefore rates of drug use in children is
increasing. Children have to be shown right and wrong and there pressures must be removed so
that they are not having a group with is an addict which will harm children. Loneliness is another
reason why people start to take drugs in United Kingdom because drugs gives them a sense of
belongingness therefore they continue to get that attention from drugs. People have a bad mood
should never be given drugs because they can easily get addicted to drugs and that is a bad habit
which they can adapt to very quickly. Children in United Kingdom are getting more addicted
which is not good for future of country therefore country should try to make people have sense
of knowledge of what they are doing to themselves and what future holds for them. Parents of
country will have to be even more careful in country so that they can make decisions accordingly
and that will help country in a lot of ways possible. Communication gap is people in country has
to be improved upon so that health of people can be maintained and rehab which have been
opened can be of a great help for people.
Attitude to drug use among public

There is a lot of attention which is required by the people who have started taking drugs
because of loneliness therefore they must get the attention they require so that they can slowly
remove there drug habit and make a better living for themselves. The age when the people of
United Kingdom some to know about drug is when they are in high school therefore the parents
must try to keep a control and monitoring over their children activities so that they can prevent
them from taking drugs because this will make them unfocused on the objective they have for
themselves in life. Experience of others or self experience in the past can also lead to the
attitudes of the people to take the drugs and that is not a good habit because it will completely
change the way the people think about themselves therefore it is very important for them to think
straight (Muller and Clausen, 2015). The school should give the children the right awareness
about the factor of drugs so that they know what the drugs can do to the children's life and it is
very important for the people to understand that the drugs are not going to do any good because
once they come back to sense the problem will not disappear, but they will again start to take
drugs again and again to escape from the reality.
The intention of the people to take drugs is either to run away from the reality or to have
the good feeling that the drugs is leaving the people with so that they can make a better living for
themselves. There is no escape from reality even if they take drugs therefore the importance of
awareness comes up in the society and this is important because they have to make there life's
better and not make them the worst by taking drugs. There are a lot of risks which are involved
with the take of drugs as well which the people are aware of, but they can not do anything about
it and that is not a good thing for the company. Drugs are legal to come expend which are
prescribed but if there are people who are taking drugs for no use then that is not an excuse for
the people to take drugs and that will just spoil the persons health and mental stability in life in
general (Grogan and et.al., 2016). The public has stopped feeling safe around the addicted people
and the media is not speaking about it much. The government has taken drastic measures to have
this problem under control before it can create more issues in the near future.
Attitude of Government towards drug use
The government of the country is not being able to do what they promise to the people of
the country but there is a limitation which the people have put in the use of drugs. The
government of the country has opened a lot of rehab but they are not being able to make the
changes because the addicts of the country do not want to change.

Drug misuse and dependency
The drugs are being sold in drug stores which is becoming a problem for the society and
the government therefore there are a lot of policies which have been put so that there is no direct
sale of drugs. The addicts are being forced to leave the take of drugs so that they can improve.
Link between music and drugs
The influence of music on people are a great influence because the people in films and
music are shown that there talent comes out when they use drugs. The people of United
Kingdom are getting influenced because of this factor and it is very important for the
government to work on that factor so that the changes can take place accordingly.
Prevalent rates
According to research team there are a lot of people of United Kingdom who are using
drugs which is 1 out of 11 people in country are addicted to it (Whiteford and et.al., 2015). There
is a growth of drug use which can be noticed in people of country over years. People who are
aged between 16-59 have a percentage of 9.4 which is a higher rate than last year of people who
are using drugs. According to 9.4% it adds up to 3.2 million people of United Kingdom who are
using drugs in country which is a high number and government is trying to help people of
country to have a better lifestyle (Peiper and et.al., 2016). There were more than 2,917 deaths
because of use of this factor in previous year and rates are still increasing with increase of
population. A lot of people become addicts in country because of unemployment which took
place in country because there was a lot of pressure on people of country and GDP of country
had fallen. People want excuses to stay away from reality of life and this is one of best excuse
people of country have found so that they can remain happy with a lot of going on their life's
(Hasan and et.al., 2015).
Models of drug use
Normalization process theory is identification, characteristics and health techniques so
that there is an improvement in the people of United Kingdom. There are a lot of theories which
can explain the addiction to drugs and that is through negative reinforcement, positive
reinforcement, incentive salience, stimulus response learning and inhibitory control dysfunction.
These theories explain why the people are getting addicted to the old habits or are developing
new bad habits which is harmful for a long run. Negative reinforcement is when there is a past
which will be triggered again because of a bad experience will make the person get the bad

habits again in their life (Patrick and et.al., 2016). This is a very common reason which can be
observed in United Kingdom people because an addict just wants new reasons to get the old
habit in them again. Just because drug addiction is making them feel better about the situation
does not mean it is good for a long run therefore getting addicted to anything is not right. There
is a negative pain or feeling the person is having therefore they get addicted to the use of drugs
again. Positive reinforcement is when there is a positive in take of a new habit and then it slowly
turns into an addiction and that is not a good sign for the people. Example, smoking might look
like something people want to try but when it becomes a habit no one knows. It is very important
to know the difference between trying and addiction to something. Children do not know what is
the difference therefore they try to they slowly become addicted to it, and they do not even come
to know. The feeling is good therefore they keep trying that thing till they do not get addicted to
it completely (Ettorre, 2016). The major challenges which are present in this theory are that the
Incentive salience is when the addiction is because of craving because they have tried that
drug, and they know the feeling therefore they have a craving of it. It can also be because of that
they have heard people talk about it, and they have had a good experience therefore the person
also wants to try it so that they can remove the stress and pressure from them so that they can
have a better life style. Stimulus response learning is that there is a trigger which can make the
person know that if this situation occurs again then they can make the use of the drug is known
as stimulus response learning. This has to be stopped in United Kingdom because there are a lot
of factors which can affect persons from starting drug addiction again but there has to be a
proper treatment for it (Borges and et.al., 2016). There is a lot of pressure on the human kind
because of the society therefore the people move towards taking drugs and that is spoiling the
people's mentality even more, and they are not being able to think straight. It is very important to
think straight in today's world therefore they have to make sure that they are doing there best to
cop with the world well instead of turning towards drugs.
Inhibitory control dysfunction is another theory which can explain the drug use or
addition in the people of United Kingdom is that they are getting addicted to things very quickly
and that is because it is an impulsive behavior of people which is driving them there. The
reaction to things of people get to use of drugs for any reason they can see in front of them that is
another level of drug use. The addicts are always looking for excuses so that they can start their
drug use again and that will make them get to used to doing the same thing more often.

Impulsive kind of behavior can be seen in the people from 16-30 years of age and those are
higher addictive to drug use and that can only be controlled by the parents of the children
(Chang, Dubbin and Shim, 2016). Addiction is all the work of the psychological thinking of the
people towards the addiction and the approach they have for it. There are a lot of people who are
just taking it because they want to get away from the reality, but they can not for a long run, and
they must face the situations instead of running away from them because those situations can get
bigger, and then they will not be able to deal with them later.
From a global and historical perspective, intoxicant use is a norm
Society is not accepting the changes which are taking place because the addiction level in
the country is just increasing over time and not reducing which the government has promised to
do. The addicts have started using different drugs and people who have less income they use
drugs which are very bad quality which leads to death. The people who are shifting to other
drugs over time they are spoiling there health as well but on a slower scale. In a social group the
use of drug is a common substance which can be observed and that needs to reduce otherwise it
will not create a positive environment for the people to live in.
CONCLUSION
Drug addiction is not a healthy habit that the people of United Kingdom are having but
the government is now working on that factor and there is a great measures which the
government has taken for the benefit of the people. There are a lot of rehab's and retreats which
have opened for helping the people who are addicted to drugs or alcohol. The rate of addiction in
United Kingdom is increase and understand that factor is very important so that the government
can make sure that the people will not have to go through that situation again. There are reasons
why the addiction level in the country is increasing and measures can only be taken when there is
an analysis on this factor. There were a lot of deaths in the country because of overdose on drugs
in the country therefore the country is trying to improve that factor so that the people of the
country can live comfortable and have a safe environment.

REFERENCES
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