to regard itself free from the problem even at a time when drugs will be a
peril only in one particular country. An intensive and continuous buildup
of the world community's joint effort against narcotics is a top priority
objective of the world at large.
Chapter 1. Concept, Manifestations and Tendencies of Drug Abuse
1. The Concept and Manifestation of Drug Abuse
Sociologists, lawyers and medical experts single out three basic
aspects of drug abuse: social, legal and medical.
These aspects are interconnected and interdependent and reveal the
diverse nature of drug abuse. Moreover one can also point out the
criminological, economic and ecological aspects.
To highlight the entire multiplicity of this phenomenon, it is
necessary to go beyond the widespread notion of "drug addiction" because
strictly speaking it applies only to the medical or biological aspects of
drug use being viewed exclusively as a disease without covering social,
legal and some other aspects. This is why the notion "drug abuse" rather
than "drug addiction" is used in juridical literature as a much wider term
covering social, legal and other aspects. So, drug abuse is understood as a
"social phenomenon" which combines such illegal actions as willful
consumption of narcotics, dealing in narcotics illegally, as well as
solicitation to use drugs, creating the conditions for becoming a part of
illegal drug trafficking.
This definition is acceptable on the whole and may be used as a basis
for describing the phenomenon, yet it fails to cover the biological aspect
and insufficiently expresses the economic, legal and criminological
aspects.
There is a need for a term that would cover all the aspects of this
negative phenomenon, and of the ways of combating it.
Social Aspects of Drug Abuse:
Most concisely, the social aspect of drug abuse can be described as a
combination of social behaviors linked to narcotics and their social
consequences in the form of damage that has been done and can be done to
society.
The actual negative social manifestations of drug abuse are expressed
in various drug-related actions: cultivation of drug bearing plants,
preparation, acquisition, storage, sale and consumption of narcotics, as
well as persuasion to use narcotics.
Negative Social Consequences of Drug Abuse:
The negative social consequences of drug abuse are similar to the
social consequences of crime. They amount to "real harm caused by crime to
social relationships and expressed in the cause-and-effect combination of
criminal behavior and in the direct and indirect, immediate and mediate
negative changes (damage, losses, and other ill effects), ultimately
affecting the social (economic, moral, legal, etc.) Values and also
implying the combination of society's economic and other social hazards
attributed to the effort to combat and to socially prevent crime.
Proceeding from this definition it is possible to recognize the
negative social consequences of drug abuse. The first is the negative
social changes, such as harm to people's health, the destruction of family
foundations, and a decline in work efficiency. The second is the cost which
society has to pay to overcome these changes. Other changes also include
refusal to work, various antisocial actions, and crime. A closer look at
these negative changes shows that drug addicts are poor workers because of
their ill health, which, in general, makes work impossible for them during
spells of abstinence. Their entire range of interests and thoughts lies in
the desire to find ways of obtaining drugs. The list of negative changes
also includes material damage perpetrated by the drug addicts who are often
the source of transportation accidents and accidents in industry. For
example, 60 billion dollars worth of damage is done annually in the United
States alone. There is also the moral damage resulting from the various
unlawful actions motivated by the desire to find means for buying drugs,
such as the willingness to commit crime for the sake of meeting that
desire. Forgery, embezzlement, abuse of authority and office duties is just
a few. Drug addicts create unbearable conditions for their families by
denying them normal lifestyles and means of existence. They harm their
offspring by upsetting the hereditary stock. Drug addicts undergo physical
and moral degradation and die early. They destroy their own basic moral and
ethical values.
The Committee of Experts of the World Health Organization determines
the social danger and negative consequences of drug abuse according to the
basic factors and divides them into two main groups: the breach of
relations among drug consumers and the spread of unfavorable consequences
among many people.
Specific Social Problems of Drug Abuse:
WHO experts describe the specific social problems caused by drug abuse
as follows: the huge material losses and their consequences in the form of
all kinds of damage done to those who immediately surround drug consumers
(parents, college roommates and so on) and to the society as a whole; the
deterioration of relations with official organizations and institutions,
staff at college and at work etc.; drug consumers' inclination to commit
crimes motivated by the need to have drugs or the means to buy them, and
also the mercenary and violent crimes committed under the influence of
drugs; the additional demand for welfare benefits and medical care for
persons using drugs other than for medicinal purposes and in connection
with this the unnoticed spending both by drug addicts and by society as a
whole; the danger arising from drug addicts as potential conduct of drug
addiction in their immediate surroundings.
Detailed research however allows for a broader list of specific social
aspects. They include: ideological and cultural, law enforcement, medical
care and preventative medicine, labor and education, family and leisure
time, and material resources. The specific ill effects of narcotics and
their unfavorable social consequences can be seen in any of the categories
listed above. For example, in the ideological and cultural area they
express themselves in the development of a specific drug ideology; in the
law enforcement area there is an increase of crime. In Medicare and
preventive medicine, there is deterioration in people's health and an
increase in the number of handicapped children. In industry and education -
a decline in labor efficiency and poor results at schools and other
educational centers is evident. One can also point to accidents and to
deterioration of relations among staff. In the family relations, a loss of
understanding occurs. All this requires setting up special schools,
preventive centers, drug departments at medical institutions,
rehabilitation centers and new antidrug programs.
To sum up the above-cited social aspects of drug abuse one may state,
that it is harmful in physical, moral and proprietary ways. This harm is
caused by the proliferation of the narcotic sub-culture as it draws more
victims into it; secondly, by drug-related crimes; thirdly, by crimes
committed for the purpose of getting means for buying more drugs; fourthly,
by crimes committed under the influence of drugs; and, finally, by the
spending needed to carry out various programs aimed at eliminating drug
abuse.
Legal Aspect of Drug Abuse:
The legal aspect of drug abuse is also a part of the social aspect.
Crimes and other law-breaking acts covered by the totality of legal norms
involve the illegal cultivation of drug-bearing plants, the preparation,
storage, transportation, trafficking, sales, and theft of drugs, the use of
drugs without doctor's prescription, and the violation of laws regulating
the handling of narcotics. This also covers the situation when suitable
conditions are created for taking drugs and those in which more people are
persuaded to use drugs or when people have to commit crimes in order to
obtain means to buy drugs. Crimes committed under the influence of drugs,
as well as crimes that are committed for the purpose of getting money to
purchase drugs are included as well.
These crimes should be viewed as part of the notion of drug abuse since
they are caused by the desires of drug users to boost drug-inspired
activities or their level of intoxication. The legal aspect of drug abuse
also includes those relationships regulated by law and arising from the non-
medical use of drugs.
Criminological Aspect of Drug Abuse:
The criminological aspect of drug abuse includes a part of this
phenomenon that poses an extreme danger to the public, i.e. is linked to
the above-cited crimes, their state, level, structure, dynamics, cause-and-
effect, criminal's personality, and prevention measures, among others.
Economic Aspect of Drug Abuse:
The economic aspect of drug abuse is associated with its affect on
economy, such as large sums of money in possession of drug dealers, a
decline in labor productivity of drug addicts; an increase in spending on
law-enforcement engaged in combating drug-related crimes; and a drain on
national budgets due to preventive and rehabilitation measures to combat
drug addiction. Experts claim, for example, that in the former USSR, the
cost of illegal drug trafficking within the "narco-business-shadow economy"
amounted to billions of troubles.
Biological Aspect of Drug Abuse:
The biological aspect of drug abuse is associated with the notion that
it is "a disease manifested by a constant and insurmountable craving for
drugs (morphine, for example) causing euphoria in small doses and stupor in
large ones. The regular use of drugs arouses a desire to increase the dose.
The abstinence syndrome usually accompanies withdrawal.
Narcotics damage the internal organs of drug takers, destroy their
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