Journal Entry: Drugs and Alcohol Abuse

With respect to the chosen contemporary social issue of drugs and alcohol abuse that is the most significant in the United States and across the globe the organization that I would like to write to is the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA). The organization’s mission is grounded on advancing science in regard to the sources and consequences of addiction and drug abuse and then apply the gained knowledge in enhancing individuals and the public’s wellbeing (NIH, 2017). The organization will be useful in offering grants to investigate in regard to this issue in regard to establishing and effectively responding to the rising drug abuse tendencies as well as to create fresh and more effective treatment and prevention strategies to curb the increasing problem. The organization offers support grants, training and research investigation efforts across the country and globally (NIH, 2017). The organization will be essential in offering research support regarding drug and alcohol abuse based on the causes and effects and then develop a viable solution.

The solution that I propose is to implement education campaigns. In that, the public and particularly young individuals need to be taught in regard to the effects of alcohol and drugs abuse on self and the society. These campaigns will not only create awareness in regard to the severity of the issue but also familiarity will be achieved on ways to avoid and prevent addiction and abuse. For efficiency to be acquired policy developers should also be well informed to make adjustments to the existing policies to ensure that the suppliers are dealt with. The laws enforced should be uniform to ensure that the public is safe and for the campaign to work. Social learning theory and symbolic interaction theory are the most applicable models to this social issue. In that, the theories attempt to explain interaction and socialization and their impacts on individuals. Most of the current drug issues are learned through socialization and interactions with peers (Akers, 2011).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

References

NIH. (2017). National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA). Retrieved from https://www.nih.gov/about-nih/what-we-do/nih-almanac/national-institute-drug-abuse-nida

Ronald L. Akers. (2011). Social Learning and Social Structure: A General Theory of Crime and Deviance. Transaction Publishers.