Use or Misuse of Medicines in Western Society

Bradburd, Danell. Being There: Necessity of Fieldwork. Smithsonian Institution Press, 1998. A medicine is generally defined as a chemical component that helps the person taking it in overcoming some unwanted feelings one may be experiencing in the body. A good example is the normal painkiller that people buy over-the-counter. Such over the counter medications can however be abused due to their availability, thus one may end up becoming an addict or a slave to them. There have been reports of people who are addicts of over-the-counter medication and they have to undergo some form of rehabilitation in a bid to quit this unbecoming habit.Advertising We will write a custom annotated bibliography sample on Use or Misuse of Medicines in Western Society specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Ellen, Roy F. Ethnographic Research: A Guide to General Conduct.  Academic Press, 1998. When people take drugs over and over again, they tend to become used to the effects and cannot seem to function without the drugs in their bodies. They end up adapting to the presence of the toxic chemicals in them, which is described as developing tolerance.  They end up increasing the dosage in a bid to keep up the flame of feeling high. People who regularly use alcohol, tobacco, coffee and tea will have developed tolerance to them. They may feel unwell when they stop taking the drug. Ferraro, Gary and Susan Andreatta. Cultural Anthropology.  Wadsworth Publishers, 2008. Back then, the term drugs was used to describe the hard drugs like heroin, marijuana and cocaine among others. But this is not the case anymore.  People in the medical field now often use the phrase ‘substance dependence’ to refer to psychological dependence where there may be no withdrawal patterns or lenience and physical reliance. Most of these illegal drugs help in stimulating the brain receptors. Most of them block the inactivation of the dopamine thus r eleasing chemicals in the endings of the nerves. There have been studies conducted in a bid to understand how the addictive drugs affect the human brain and the consequences thereof. Flick, Uwe. An Introduction to Qualitative Research. SAGE, 1995. It is therefore is not a major shock that most young adults like trying most of these drugs in a bid to feel the effects on a first hand basis instead of just hearing of the effects from other people.  According to most of the conducted researches, there happens to be no form of relationship between academic performance and drugs or trying to be received socially. However, these studies were limited to only specific drugs discussion. Geest, Sjaak van der and Susan Reynolds Whyte. The Context of Medicines in Developing Countries. Kliwer Academic Publishers, 1988. There have been tremendous changes in the fight against the use of these illegal substances in the western societies. The drugs that were once considered to be safe and fit for h uman consumption soon became a pandemic that was threatening to take down the current generations. Some of the drug addicts have often given excuses for their indecent behaviors by saying that they do it in a bid to escape from the harsh reality of life while others say they do it as a form of stress relief mechanism.Advertising Looking for annotated bibliography on health medicine? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Hanson, Glen, et al. Drugs and Society. Jones and Bartlett, 2009. Withdrawal from these drugs in an ill fashioned manner is often regarded as dangerous. This is because the body has already adapted to the addictive substances and thus just stopping usage in a bid to clean oneself may actually cause death. It is advisable to seek the services of a qualified medical doctor in a bid to kick out this unbecoming behavior, become drug-free again and stop being a slave of these drugs. Hatch, Amos. Doing Qualitative Researc h in Education Settings. State U of New York P, 2002. In an attempt to try and arrest the drug abusing situation in the westernized societies, the government started establishing federal control centers and polices.  These policies comprised of information on drug use and also determined which drugs were to be classified as controlled substances or those which had been declared illegal and unacceptable for any form of use. Similar agencies were set up in other states in a bid to curb the rising use of illegal substances. Regulating bodies made it even more difficult to buy drugs over the counter in pharmacies except for a few drugs. Marks, David and Brian Evans. Health Psychology.  SAGE, 2000. Among the numerous studies conducted in a bid to figure out the most affected groups, it was discovered that university undergraduate students and the young adults were the people who were abusing drugs most, for no apparent reason but to just try and pleasure themselves. This was as early as in the nineteen seventies. In the late nineteen seventies, use of cocaine and heroin became rampant in the United States and especially among the youth. The law enforcement agencies had no information about this and this was also enhanced by the fact that there were corrupt law enforcement officers, especially in the state of New York. Maykut, Pamela and Richard Morehouse. Beginning Qualitative Research. Falmer Press Taylor Francis, 1994. Since mankind started discovering himself, drugs have been used to change how people feel or perceive the world. It is amazing how different cultures have come up with different ways of developing and controlling the drugs that they use, be it for medication purposes or for other different uses. In the many different cultures, drugs have different uses in that some may be used as pain relievers in some cultures. The same may be banned substances in others cultures or they may be viewed as controlled substances. Drug abuse has become an unwante d norm in our society.Advertising We will write a custom annotated bibliography sample on Use or Misuse of Medicines in Western Society specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More It has led to severe health effects and exacerbated instances of crime. Laws have been passed that all addicts should be classified as criminals and they should face consequences once they are arrested and prosecuted in a court of law for their hideous crimes against themselves. This has however not done much in deterring the habit of substance abuse from going on. Numerous campaigns and public awareness seminars have also not really offered much of solutions in the quest to let the public know about the dangers of drug abuse and self medication. Marshall, Catherine and Gretchen Rossman. Designing Qualitative Research Records. SAGE, 1946. In the Western society, drug addiction and abuse is generally viewed as a form of sickness that affects the person abusing the drugs. This is said to have created an illusion to the society that the affected people have no ability or control of their ways thus making them be sidelined by the society. It is now evident that in the Western world, societies have evolved to become addicted to anything that eases the day-to-day living in terms of sex, food and even work. This however also comes with addictives that are not good enough for us thus, creating some form of tussle which is said to attract great suffering. McKay, John P., et al. A History of Western Society since 1300 for Advanced Placement. Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2008. Parents and the society at large should not assume that this is the government’s sole responsibility to eradicate drugs off our streets and schools, but they ought to help in stemming out this social evil. If parents ignore their responsibility, it will be very hard for the government to handle the issue of drug abuse alone. The morals should stem right from the family poi nt and when enhanced in every family, the entire society will generally assume a responsible attitude. Strict regulations by the government will however be effective in reducing presence and abuse of drugs in the society. McKay, John, et al. A History of Western Society, Volume B: From Renaissance to 1815. Bedford/St Martin’s, 2007. This caused the establishment of the Drug Enforcement Agency which is normally known as the DEA. Strict and harsh penalties were imposed on offenders and even worse penalties were imposed on law enforcement officers who were caught colluding with these uncouth drug barons.Advertising Looking for annotated bibliography on health medicine? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More This helped in reducing the spread and usage of these narcotic substances. The police were also trained on how to effectively handle these matters. They were also rewarded handsomely in a bid to prevent them from engaging in the drug business. Schensul, Stephen L. and Jean J. Schensul. Essential Ethnographic Methods: Observation, Interviews and Questionnaires. Rowman Littlefield Publishers, 1999. The newspapers in the New York state started narrating these drug stories and this brought about a lot of awareness and the few good cops decided that it was time to act.  By the time they were getting rid of this hideous activity in the state of New York, they had arrested almost three quarters of the entire police force. This also was coupled with arrests in the judicial system because the drug barons had bought their freedom all the way to the top. Sulton, Mark Q. and Eugene Newton Anderson. Introduction to Cultural Ecology. Altamira Press, 2010. In an attempt to arrest the situation, the American government put some comprehensive drug control policies. Public education was reintroduced and this time was brought in schools in the affected states. This was intended to teach the young generation the dangers of drug abuse and the consequences one was likely to face in life and also if one got caught by the government. Schools were encouraged to take strict multi-disciplinary actions against any student who was caught engaging in drug trafficking or using any of the illegal substances. Vincanne, Adams, et al. Medicine between Science and Religion. Berghahn Books, 2011. The misuse of medicine in the western society clearly came with dire repercussions and it has made some people lose lives and also lose out on being loyal citizens.  It is a shame that even amidst all the education efforts being conducted in an effort to educate the youth and eradicate this social evil, there still are a good number of people who end up getting drawn into this behavior of drug abuse . Bibliography Bradburd, Danell. Being There: Necessity of Fieldwork. Smithsonian Institution Press, 1998. Ellen, Roy F. Ethnographic Research: A Guide to General Conduct. Academic Press, 1998. Ferraro, Gary and Andreatta Susan. Cultural Anthropology. Wadsworth Publishers, 2008. Flick, Uwe. An Introduction to Qualitative Research. SAGE, 1995. Geest, Sjaak van der and Susan Reynolds Whyte. The Context of Medicines in Developing Countries. Kliwer Academic Publishers, 1988. Hanson, Glen, et al. Drugs and Society. Jones and Bartlett, 2009. Hatch, Amos. Doing Qualitative Research in Education Settings. State U of New York P, 2002. Marks, David and Brian Evans. Health Psychology. SAGE, 2000. Marshall, Catherine and Gretchen Rossman. Designing Qualitative Research Records. SAGE, 1946. Maykut, Pamela and Richard Morehouse. Beginning Qualitative Research. Falmer Press Taylor Francis, 1994. McKay, John P., et al. A History of Western Society since 1300 for Advanced Placement. Bedford/St. Mar tin’s, 2008. McKay, John, et al. A History of Western Society, Volume B: From Renaissance to 1815. Bedford/St Martin’s, 2007. Schensul, Stephen L. and Jean J. Schensul. Essential Ethnographic Methods: Observation, Interviews and Questionnaires. Rowman Littlefield Publishers, 1999. Sulton, Mark Q. and Eugene Newton Anderson. Introduction to Cultural Ecology. Altamira Press, 2010. Vincanne, Adams, et al. Medicine between Science and Religion. Berghahn Books, 2011. This annotated bibliography on Use or Misuse of Medicines in Western Society was written and submitted by user Alfonso Burch to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.