Paper Example on Substance Abuse: A Global Crisis, A Personal Tragedy

Introduction

I chose substance abuse as my global social issue of concern since it is a crisis that cuts across developed and developing nations. Also, I concentrated on the ramifications emanating from the issue and the fact that I have lost friends through substance abuse which drove me to address the problem. Substance addiction is a relapsing disorder, and it is very compulsive. Those addicted to hard drugs, alcohol and cigarette smoking, are often unable to quit the use of these substances despite the adverse effects on their health, family relations, and productivity. Unlike other global issues like terrorism and climate change which are external threats that the normal man can do little about, substance abuse is an issue that a person can choose to abstain from as well us influence those around them.

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According to the United Nations, at the beginning of the 21st century, an estimated 185 million people over the age of 15 years were consuming drugs globally (Turner, 2019). The substance abuse menace is very persistent with all classes of people from the richest to the poorest partaking in substance abuse across the world. Substance abuse gets even more harmful due to its interconnection to other problems that threaten the health and safety of society. Many reports have linked substance abuse to spread of HIV/AIDS (Kresina & Lubran, 2017). Use of intoxicating substances impairs judgment and predispose abusers to irresponsible sexual behavior, which put the abusers at a high risk of getting infected with HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases. Some hard substances are taken in form of injections, and people engaging in this behavior often share unsterilized injection needles which put them at risk of infection.

In American society, substance abuse has been linked to crime and the rising cases of violence. A study done in the state prisons revealed that 55% of convicted offenders confessed to having been under the influence of drugs when they committed the crime for which they were serving. Only 19% said that they would still have committed the crime even if they were not under the influence of substance (Fox, Oliver & Ellis, 2013). In Asian continent, United Nations Anti-Crime Unit has revealed shocking revelations on how drug barons lure unsuspecting people through deception and end up engaging them in the illicit business of smuggling drugs (Shelly, 2012). Therefore, it is clear that substance abuse makes people engage in crime and hence it has such a negative societal impact.

What is the thesis of your film?

The thesis of my film is that the ordinary citizen can contribute substantially to curbing substance abuse by being responsible. Through actions like abstaining from substance abuse and responsible parenting, individual efforts collectively would go a long way in eradicating or reducing this menace. Through educational and religious forums, the society can be sensitized to address substance abuse before it gets out of hand especially among youths.Also, though partnership of different organizations like media and anti-drugs abuse agencies, the desired effects can be realized.

Why/how does your global social issue present an ethical conundrum?

The problems emanating from substance abuse like deaths, poor health, loss of productivity, irresponsible behavior, the proliferation of crime among others are appalling. They leave the common citizen with a choice of making efforts to arrest the problem or remain unconcerned (Shelley, 2012). There are numerous ways through which an individual can make a contribution to solving this crisis. First is by not being part of the problem, either through substance abuse or abetting through manufacturing or distributing the intoxicating substances. Secondly, one can make efforts to prevent others from engaging in this harmful behavior as well as helping those engaging in substance abuse to quit the use of drugs.

Research findings have identified poor and irresponsible parenting as a major factor predisposing children and young adults to substance abuse. Children of parents who abuse substance have high chances of engaging in the same habit at some point in life and especially at the early stages of adulthood (Forrester & Harwin,2011). Lack of adequate guidance, counseling, and parental supervision in the growth and development of children makes them vulnerable to peer pressure. Peer pressure may influence them to engage in these harmful habits especially at the stage where their curiosity is high. Family perspective plays a key role in preventing adolescents and young adults from falling in this trap (Brewer, 2017). Parents should also strive to give formal education to their children. Low levels of education are highly linked to substance abuse. According to Lee et al. 2015, 45 percent of drug users entering treatment stage have not gone beyond primary school. Education also enhances chances of being employed and henceforth reduce chances of being a victim of this global crisis since substance abuse is more prevalent among the unemployed (Lee et al., 2015). Being a good role model to children and peers can, therefore, help in reducing substance abuse.

Also, charity giving to organizations that are involved in the fight of substance abuse as well as organizations that engage themselves in sensitizing and raising awareness about this social problem is another way an individual can make a contribution. I feel that these organizations do not receive greatly needed support (Lee et al., 2015). If every responsible member of society revamps their support for them, they will reach a greater number of people and help in saving the world from substance abuse.

Do you consider your film to be successful in meeting your thesis, and why?

I believe I have divulged on issues surrounding substance abuse and the threats this crisis has globally, and thus I believe the film is consistent with the thesis. Furthermore, I have gone ahead to outline the contributions we can make as individual members of the society that can collectively make a difference in achieving the goal of having a world free from substance abuse.

If you had to do it all over again, what would you do differently?

Though the documentary achieved great success, there are still many more issues pertaining to a substance that were either left out or not covered in depth. I would have wished to discuss other threats linked to substance abuse such as terrorism, increase of poverty levels, weakening of social ties, loss of productivity among others. In most cases, substance abusers end up living a low-quality life. Substance abuse often leads to the ultimate price of death either directly to the abuser from deteriorating health, or indirectly by exposing non-users to risks through actions like dangerous driving by intoxicated drivers.

The substances of abuse are many, and I would have wished to discuss in detail about different classes of these substances and how each of them affects the health of the user. An evaluation of the extents to which substance abuse affects and an individual would not be for the purpose of justifying some as better than others. Rather, it would be a good way to show that every substance has its health effects which cannot be ignored.

Outlining the economic and financial implications would also have helped the audience understand more on how victims of substance abuse end up being a burden to their families, the society and also government in attempts to rescue the victims. Money spent in rehabilitation centers and on medicine would have been used on more productive activities or assets.

Finally, I would have wished to discuss on interventions governments in different countries in the world, law enforcement agencies, and international organization can make to help in eradicating substance abuse from the face of the earth.

References

Brewer, B. R. (2017). How parenting style relates to adolescent substance abuse in an at-risk male population.

Forrester, D., & Harwin, J. (2011). Parents who misuse drugs and alcohol: Effective interventions in social work and child protection (Vol. 30). John Wiley & Sons.

Fox, T. P., Oliver, G., & Ellis, S. M. (2013). The destructive capacity of drug abuse: an overview is exploring the harmful potential of drug abuse both to the individual and to society. ISRN addiction, 2013.

Kresina, T. F., & Lubran, R. (2017). The Linkage of Illicit Drug Use/Alcohol Use and HIV Infection in Young Adults. International Journal of High-Risk Behaviors and Addiction, 6(1).

Lee, J. O., Hill, K. G., Hartigan, L. A., Boden, J. M., Guttmannova, K., Kosterman, R., ... & Catalano, R. F. (2015). Unemployment and substance use problems among young adults: Does childhood low socioeconomic status exacerbate the effect?. Social science & medicine, 143, 36-44.

Shelley, L. (2012). The relationship between the drug and human trafficking: A global perspective. European Journal on Criminal Policy and Research, 18(3), 241-253.

Turner, C. (2019, April 23). Top 10 Most Important Current Global Issues. Retrieved from https://borgenproject.org/top-10-current-global-issues/