Drug Abuse the Subject of Term Paper

In addition, the data suggest that younger arrestees were less inclined to use heroin (Baumler et al. 2002)."

This research also found that variables such as geographics, ethnicity, and age provide some explanation for heroin-use patterns (Baumler et al. 2002). All of these variables contribute to drug usage. Counselors and Law enforcement agents must address these variables if they desire to get to the root of the problem of heroin abuse. The report also suggests that counselors should concentrate on understanding these variables so that heroin addicts can be treated appropriately.

Discussion and Conclusion

The purpose of this discussion was to focus on the drug usage as a multicultural issue. We found that the drug usage is prevalent at all levels of our society. The research also suggests that drug abuse cost billions of dollars each year. We found that much of this expense is derived from drug related crime.

The discussion also focused on a report published by the National Institutes of Health. The report found that drug abuse exists regardless of culture. The report did suggest that Native Americans and Hispanics were more likely to abuse drugs. However, the report also explains that 6% of the population over 12 years of age suffers from some kind of drug abuse. The article also explains that increased drug abuse among Hispanic and Native Americans is most likely do to adverse poverty. In addition, we reviewed the findings of a study published in Journal of Addictions & Offender Counseling. The findings suggests that heroin abuse can be attributed to a number of factors including age and ethnicity.

As you can see drug use is indeed a multicultural issue. The NIH report and subsequent findings suggests that drug abuse affects people from every walk of life. This finding is evidence that individuals that use drugs can come from a myriad of backgrounds. It also suggests that adverse poverty can contribute to the likelihood that an individual will use drugs. All of these finding solidify the contention that drug abuse is a multicultural issue.

References

Baumler Elizabeth R., Regina J. Johnson, Ronald J. Peters Jr., Michael W. Ross, George S. Yacoubian Jr. (2002) Heroin Use among Southern Arrestees: Regional Findings from the Arrestee Drug Abuse Monitoring Program. Journal of Addictions & Offender Counseling. 2250+.

Kolody, B., Amanda Noble Pat Porter, William a. Vega. Effects of Age on Perinatal Substance Abuse among Whites and African-Americans. Contributors. American Journal of Drug and Alcohol Abuse. 23: 431+.

Rosenfeld, R., & Decker, S. (1993). Discrepant values, correlated measures: Cross-cities and longitudinal comparisons…