Research Outline
Thesis: Over the last several decades, drug abuse has become a global problem, especially in the urban environment, in turn posing adverse effects and a threat to gay culture.
- Introduction
- Thesis: Over the last several decades, drug abuse has become a global problem, especially in the urban environment, in turn posing adverse effects and threats to gay culture.
- Background
- Substance use has caused multiple illnesses among youths in and out of urban areas, and these illnesses are bound to increase due to the increase in illicit drug marketing, especially in the marketing centres.
- The young, carefree and lively youths in urban centres are bound to become enslaved by alcohol and substance use and hence exposed to addiction, which in turn leads to loss of lives, family, friends and possessions.
- In the United States, approximately two million youths have been proven to be involved in alcoholism and drug use.
- Drug abuse has been a consequence of unemployment and poor social conditions, which are rampant in urban areas due to the large populations supported by the city walls. In this essence, drug use affects not only the users but also the people surrounding them, such as friends, family and the entire country.
- The effects of drugs are profoundly manifested through the user’s behaviour as well as their health.
- Drug use varies from one user to another, as well as from drug to drug.
- Drugs such as heroin and cocaine can addict users after a few uses and, in rare cases, after the first attempt.
- Alcohol and codeine are addictive when used continuously.
- Drug use is in the form of stimulants, sedatives, hallucinogens, alcohol, as well as prescription drugs, to mention a few. This includes legal and illegal drugs which cause adverse effects on gay users. Drug use leads to addiction. These drugs are mostly used to relieve emotional pain and stress and to induce pleasure.
- Medical professionals, researchers and scientists have argued that drug substances lead to dependence by changing the functionality of the brain. Additionally, they also believe that drug use causes adverse effects on the user from which one may not refrain. Nevertheless, these drugs affect users physically, emotionally and mentally.
- There are early warning signs and personality changes that youths involved in drug use show, which may be obvious to other people surrounding them. Being aware of these signs is vital in helping the user to adopt a drug-free life.
- The people who are aware of the signs should intervene to avoid adverse cases of addiction and loss of lives. Interventions help in proving to users that they have addictions and asking them to seek medical treatment.
- Most signs of drug use in gay culture include involvement in erotic behaviours, loss of interest in friends and family, poor self-image, constant lies and lame excuses, as well as emotional and verbal abuse and insults.
- After long-term consumption of drugs, the user’s psychological, physical and addiction states change.
- One change includes adapting to and tolerating the amount of substance that the user has been consuming.
- Another one is the increase in erotic behaviours, wild partying, and drug use, making the user wear out, become depressed and remain dissatisfied.
- Different types of treatments are available for different types of drug-user situations.
- They include residential rehabs.
- Detoxification.
- Ambulatory and outpatient services.
- A 12-step program, also termed Alcoholics Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous.
- Conclusion
In conclusion, understanding and grasping the effects associated with drug use in gay culture is significant in prevention, treatment and recovery. All types of people are negatively affected by the impact of drug abuse. Some people term drug users as evil, but through the ultimate understanding of drugs, people can understand the physical, scientific and psychological reasons leading to drug use. Drug use and addiction are diseases but preventable diseases from which everyone can refrain. Therefore, it is worthwhile to conduct urban-based surveys on drug use and use the information gathered to raise awareness and facilitate community activities in preventing drug use. It is clear that data related to drug prevalence can be significant in preventing, treating and raising awareness of the effects of drug use on urban gay culture.
Introduction
Drug abuse refers to the unregulated and excessive use of drugs in amounts which lead to emotional, physical and social harm to the user. Drug abuse is rampant in urban centres, which are the sole markets for drugs. Drug abuse is practised by many people from all walks of life, but it is common in urban centres among the young and free people of gay culture. Substance abuse not only affects users but also affects surrounding people, such as neighbours, friends, family and relatives (Johnston, 2010, p. 20). Drug abuse has a lot of negative effects and consequences, especially for addicts. Over the last several decades, drug abuse has become a global problem, especially in the urban environment, in turn posing adverse effects and a threat to gay culture.
Analysis
The main feature of drug substances is that they cause addiction. Addiction disrupts physical and mental mood and well-being. It also causes the user to depend entirely on the drug dose. The absence of the drug within the body system causes serious conditions and seizures as well as severe muscle pain in body muscles and organs (McKirnan & Peterson, 1989, p. 546). Mental dependence is depicted by the fact that the user strives to achieve balance and normalcy. In relevance to speculation, drug abuse is widely increasing in urban centres, hence leading to a proportional number of addicts on the streets (Goode, 1989).
Substance use causes multiple injuries, deaths and illnesses among people in gay culture, which does not regulate drug use and behaviours that come along with the consumption of drug substances (Degenhardt & Hall, 2012, p. 57). Most youths within the urban environment are directly exposed to drug use as urban centres are mostly the source of the drugs. For instance, in gay culture, which allows freedom for drug use among youths, the youths are, without a doubt, bound to succumb to alcoholism and substance use, which is not regulated in urban areas. Moreover, most of the drugs abused in town centres are beneficial to humankind but very harmful when consumed in large amounts. Drugs such as marijuana, cocaine, heroin and alcohol are mostly abused by youths as they are in high supply within cities. On the other hand, prescription drugs such as opioids are also commonly abused.
Drug abuse in gay culture destroys professional, social and cultural ties. Drug dependence reduces the level of self-realisation, hence negatively affecting and ruining relations among people. It also destroys a family budget and causes societal conflicts as well as individual conflicts. Drugs deter critical and intellectual thinking among users, forcing them to get involved in actions and behaviours without making critical judgments. Addicted or alcoholic people will find it hard to relate well to other people. It also causes users to wear out physically and hence appear mentally unstable, and in turn, people regard them as mad and, therefore, find it hard to relate to them.
Causes of Drug Abuse in Urban Communities
The factors involved in the increase in drug abuse in urban centres include but are not limited to the increase in the rate of unemployment, peer pressure, personal stress and desire for pleasure. The leading factor in causing drug use is the desire for pleasure. Youths in towns always want to attend parties and are involved in alcohol and drug use and view this as pleasurable and stress-relieving. The lack of employment makes people idle and, hence, indulge in drugs to stay busy. Also, peer pressure is high in urban centres due to the number of youths inhabiting towns, making them influence each other into drug use. The drugs mostly consumed include sedatives, hallucinogens and stimulants. Over-the-counter medicines are also commonly abused.
Physical Psychological and Social Effects
Drug use induces changes in the user. This is in the form of psychological, physical and behavioural changes. These changes cause youths to be involved in erotic behaviours, which can cause sexually transmitted infections such as HIV/AIDS (Newcomb, Maddahian & Bentler, 1986, p. 526). Mental changes expose the user to mental illness and memory loss. The behavioural changes cause users to engage in bad behaviours, which in turn ruin relationship ties and annoy the people around them. For instance, drunken people engage in fights and insult people aimlessly. There is a common assumption in the United States that drug abuse is highly related to violence and crime. The association between ill behaviours, crime and violence is more subtle and complex. Through the use of various urban contexts, the rampant and ill behaviours among youths are due to the legality of alcohol and substance consumption in the urban environment.
Prevention and Treatment Measures
Urban areas should also set up measures to regulate substance use. This can be done, for example, by banning the use of hard drugs such as cocaine and heroin, which are highly addictive. Peddlers should also be arrested. Other measures include providing employment opportunities to youths in urban centres to avoid idleness. Adopting regulative and caring cultures in cities will also play a crucial part in preventing drug use. Drug prescribers should also be inspected to ensure that they are competent enough to prescribe the right quantity of medicine to their buyers. This would prevent cases of misuse of over-the-counter drugs. Also, protective cultures which do not allow for drug use and immoral behaviours should be adopted instead to set values which regulate drug use.
Various desirable treatments are, however, available to counteract these drug effects on urban gay culture (Wright, 2000, p. 665). Treatment centres such as rehabilitation centres, ambulatory outpatient services, detoxification and non-alcoholic programs have been widely encouraged and set up in cities to aid in preventing and treating drug-related problems. Additionally, these programs are also at the forefront of raising awareness against substance use. This is core to ensuring that youths refrain from drug use.
Conclusion
In conclusion, it is evident that drug use has been rampant over the decades, especially in urban areas, due to permissive cultures which allow for drug use, provided the users are having fun and enjoying themselves. Drug abuse is also widespread in towns due to the high rates of unemployment as well as an increase in stress and personal problems. The effects of drug consumption are also major and include addiction, death, and psychological, physical and emotional changes which hinder normalcy. However, treatment facilities can be set up in urban areas to help prevent and treat problems associated with drug use. The effects can also be reduced through setting up laws and regulations aimed at reducing or banning the supply of drugs to cities.
Bibliography
Goode, E., 1989. Drugs in American society. New York: Knopf.
Degenhardt, L. and Hall, W., 2012. The extent of illicit drug use and dependence, and their contribution to the global burden of disease. The Lancet, 379(9810), pp. 55-70.
Newcomb, M.D., Maddahian, E. and Bentler, P.M., 1986. Risk factors for drug use among adolescents: concurrent and longitudinal analyses. American Journal of Public Health, 76(5), pp. 525-531.
Johnston, L.D., 2010. Monitoring the future: National survey results on drug use, 1975-2008: Volume II: College students and adults ages 19-50. Diane Publishing.
McKirnan, D.J. and Peterson, P.L., 1989. Alcohol and drug use among homosexual men and women: Epidemiology and population characteristics. Addictive Behaviors, 14(5), pp. 545-553.
Wright, N., 2000. Treatment of drug users. The British Journal of General Practice, 50(457), p. 665.
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