According to a report by the UK Drug Policy Commission, gay men and lesbians are far more likely to put their health at risk from drug misuse than heterosexuals. The Impact of Drugs on Different Minority Groups: A review of the UK Literature has argued that it is paramount that there be a better understanding of drug use within diverse minority communities if lives are going to be saved. People within the LGBTQ community tend to be early users of new drugs and illicit drug use is higher than their heterosexual counterparts. An explanation of the higher drug use within the LGBTQ community has everything to do with the struggles individual's within this community face on a daily basis. Heavy drug use could be linked to deeper mental issues that may make gay men or lesbians more susceptible to drug misuse. Homophobic bullying starting from the time individual's are in school often has a hangover effect, storing up mental and emotional health problems later on into their adult life.
It is interesting that although LGBTQ people are shown as having used all types of drugs, there are certain drugs that appear to be more popular within the community rather than in the mainstream community. For instance, gay men are more likely to use marijuana, cocaine, stimulants, sedatives, and party drugs such as ecstasy and ketamine.
Another very significant part of drug addiction within the LGBTQ community is linked to "club drugs." Club Drugs also known as "designer drugs"has risen to popularity over the last two decades. Including trip-based drugs such as the aforementioned ecstasy, club drugs tend to be used to facilitate social and sexual interactions at dance clubs or underground parties known as “raves.” Many club drugs can quickly lead to addiction and consequences of addiction include compromised judgment and the lowering of social inhibitions, in the worst cases leading gay and lesbian individuals to fall victim to drug overdose, unsafe or anonymous sexual practices and even become victims of sexual assaults and verbal and physical violence.
Thursday, May 19, 2011
Women, Prison, & the Drug War
After taking some interest in researching how women gain access to illicit drugs behind bars, I found many interesting facts about women, prison, and the war on drugs:
1. Black women are 3.8 times more likely than white women to be sent to prison while Latinas are 1.6 times more likely than white women to be sent to prison.
2. Even though they use illicit drugs at a similar rate during pregnancy, black women are 10 times more likely than white women to be reported for to child welfare for prenatal drug abuse.
3. A Black woman is 4.8 times more likely than a white woman to be sent to prison for a drug violation.
4. Since 1977, the rate of female imprisonment has grown 757 percent therefore making women the fastest growing segment of the prison population.
5. A drug offense is the most common reason for maternal incarceration.
What I found the most baffling in my research of drugs and prison is that prisons are supposed to be institutions that provide the opportunity for women to lead drug free lives, however, it seems now more than ever that prisons actually just offer opportunity for prisoners to tackle their drug use which is only continuing the cycle and odds of women staying confined to prison life.
The War on Drugs & Abortion: A Connection?
After reading an article that was based on both the war on drugs and the war on abortion, I found many similar connections between the two heavily debated topics and thought it would be interesting to discuss the initial connections I found:
*Through history women have sought to control their reproduction regardless of cultural, religious, or family values having to do with that of contraception, abortion, and childbearing. Similarly with this people have always sought ways in which to alter their state of consciousness through a range of mind-altering experiences and drugs. Therefore, one obvious connection that is found is that both subjects relate to what people do and have always done to their bodies regardless of the severity of the restrictions.
*Both subjects reflect the extremes of human experience: sex and drugs can give people mind expanding, life affirming, ecstatic experiences. However, they both are associated with abuse, violence, and despair. For example, a woman is very much connected to her sexuality and her ability to reproduce, however, that may be affected permanently through experiences such as rape and molestation. Similarly, there is a deeply rooted and permanent scar for those women who turn to drugs to numb the pain of such experiences.
*Reproduction and drug use share many commonalties when it comes to justifications for prohibition and regulation. Various forms of prejudice include: race, ethnicity, and gender which have been used to justify such control.
*At various times in American history both abortion and certain drugs have been outlawed. Even when outlawed and enforced, the effect of the efforts to prohibit both abortion and drug use have been consistently unsuccessful.
*Through history women have sought to control their reproduction regardless of cultural, religious, or family values having to do with that of contraception, abortion, and childbearing. Similarly with this people have always sought ways in which to alter their state of consciousness through a range of mind-altering experiences and drugs. Therefore, one obvious connection that is found is that both subjects relate to what people do and have always done to their bodies regardless of the severity of the restrictions.
*Both subjects reflect the extremes of human experience: sex and drugs can give people mind expanding, life affirming, ecstatic experiences. However, they both are associated with abuse, violence, and despair. For example, a woman is very much connected to her sexuality and her ability to reproduce, however, that may be affected permanently through experiences such as rape and molestation. Similarly, there is a deeply rooted and permanent scar for those women who turn to drugs to numb the pain of such experiences.
*Reproduction and drug use share many commonalties when it comes to justifications for prohibition and regulation. Various forms of prejudice include: race, ethnicity, and gender which have been used to justify such control.
*At various times in American history both abortion and certain drugs have been outlawed. Even when outlawed and enforced, the effect of the efforts to prohibit both abortion and drug use have been consistently unsuccessful.
Gender Exploitation in Alcohol Advertising
Media and popular culture has one of the biggest influences on our society. Media essentially provides us with actual models of behavior and creates ideas or “norms” for society through social constructs. The messages and models we see within society can reinforce an individual's or society as a whole's existing beliefs and/or attitude about a particular topic. One of the biggest ways in which the media molds our views as a society is through advertising and currently there has been a noticeable increase in the use of sexual appeal within alcohol advertisements. According to a study by S.C. Jones from the University of Wollongong called “Beer, Boats, and Breasts: Responses to a controversial alcohol advertising campaign” the increasing portrayals of sexuality in advertising began in the 1980s and has continued through the '90's into to today. Women are over-sexualized and often found to be partially dressed or even nude within these advertisements. Ultimately these advertisements are degrading and demeaning to women because these women are being used as objects. Their bodies are being used to sell products for the specific pleasure of men focusing solely around the sexual appeal of women often insinuating to society that females are only worthy of their sexuality. Through the use of alcohol advertisements that objectify women it only aims the appeal toward the opposite gender along with giving a negative portrayal of women toward the younger generations expected to mold our society in the future.
Alcohol's Role in Perception of Sexual Intent
In American society alcohol and sexuality are frequently linked especially within men. This is why many people consistently report that alcohol enhances sexuality and this is why men tend to expect a greater sexual enhancement after drinking alcohol than women. I find it particularly interesting that many studies demonstrate that men perceive women more sexually than women do; in a sense they view the world in a more sexualized manner than women especially after alcohol consumption. Consequently they are more likely to interpret ambiguous cues as evidence of sexual intent. This ambiguity makes it difficult for people to decide whether certain words or actions are sexual invitations or whether or not they are just being friendly. This is why both women and men report that misperceptions of friendliness as sexual interest are common although significantly more women are subjected and have these experiences than men.
Tuesday, March 15, 2011
Women & Drugs: Diet Pills & Dangerous Methods
Body Image: a picture of one's own physical look established by self-observation and by noting the reaction of others.
We are a society obsessed with body image. Today the amount of exposure we have to dieting and weight image is so great that younger generations are taught by society to think that our bodies are who we are; our appearance is who we are. Women today especially feel as though they are defined solely on their appearance. Through the media women are constantly forced to think that if they are supernaturally skinny like super-models and fit a certain script of what society sees as beautiful then the will fit in.
One thing that seems to be a major issue within society presently is diet pills. We see advertisements for dieting and weight loss on television commercials, billboards, in magazines, on the radio, etc. and it is only furthering this idea that "thin is in." How this pertains to our 'Women & Drugs' class is that although we are exposed to the positive effects that these diet pills are supposed to have on our bodies, in reality these drugs can become overly addictive and not only that they have extreme side effects that can be harmful to ones health through the chemicals and mixtures of substances used within these diet pills.
Diet pills can be over the counter appetite suppressants such as phenylpropanolamine and caffeine pills or prescription like Redux or Phen. Now while there are a wide variety of diet pills on the market available for women to buy, many of them have highly addictive qualities to them and often contain small amounts of laxatives. Both over-the-counter and prescription pills can cause nervousness, restlessness, insomnia, high blood pressure, fatigue and hyperactivity, heart arrhythmias and palpitations, congestive heart failure or heart attack, stroke, headaches, dry mouth, vomitting and diarrhea or constipation, intestinal disturbances, tightness in chest, tingling in extremities, excessive persperation, dizziness, disruption in menstrual cycle, change in sex drive, hair loss, blurred vision, fever and urinary tract problems.
Addiction to diet pills can be because of physical reasons and/or psychological reasons...sometimes even both. Like with many other drug addictions, diet pills can often be the sign of deeper emotional issues or even an eating disorder among many young women.
This is a video clip that was shown in class during one of the presentations which I thought related to the topic at hand. It's called Teen Truth: An Inside Look at Body Image
Diet Pill Addiction
Diet Pills, Laxatives, & Dangerous Methods
We are a society obsessed with body image. Today the amount of exposure we have to dieting and weight image is so great that younger generations are taught by society to think that our bodies are who we are; our appearance is who we are. Women today especially feel as though they are defined solely on their appearance. Through the media women are constantly forced to think that if they are supernaturally skinny like super-models and fit a certain script of what society sees as beautiful then the will fit in.
One thing that seems to be a major issue within society presently is diet pills. We see advertisements for dieting and weight loss on television commercials, billboards, in magazines, on the radio, etc. and it is only furthering this idea that "thin is in." How this pertains to our 'Women & Drugs' class is that although we are exposed to the positive effects that these diet pills are supposed to have on our bodies, in reality these drugs can become overly addictive and not only that they have extreme side effects that can be harmful to ones health through the chemicals and mixtures of substances used within these diet pills.
Diet pills can be over the counter appetite suppressants such as phenylpropanolamine and caffeine pills or prescription like Redux or Phen. Now while there are a wide variety of diet pills on the market available for women to buy, many of them have highly addictive qualities to them and often contain small amounts of laxatives. Both over-the-counter and prescription pills can cause nervousness, restlessness, insomnia, high blood pressure, fatigue and hyperactivity, heart arrhythmias and palpitations, congestive heart failure or heart attack, stroke, headaches, dry mouth, vomitting and diarrhea or constipation, intestinal disturbances, tightness in chest, tingling in extremities, excessive persperation, dizziness, disruption in menstrual cycle, change in sex drive, hair loss, blurred vision, fever and urinary tract problems.
Addiction to diet pills can be because of physical reasons and/or psychological reasons...sometimes even both. Like with many other drug addictions, diet pills can often be the sign of deeper emotional issues or even an eating disorder among many young women.
This is a video clip that was shown in class during one of the presentations which I thought related to the topic at hand. It's called Teen Truth: An Inside Look at Body Image
Diet Pill Addiction
Diet Pills, Laxatives, & Dangerous Methods
Fetal Alcohol Syndrome & Characteristics of Mothers Who Have Kids With FAS
Did you know that alcohol is the leading known preventable cause of mental and physical birth defects within the United States? For women who decide to drink alcohol during pregnancy, they take that extreme risk of giving birth to a child who will ultimately have to pay a HUGE price. That child will have to suffer from mental and physical deficiencies for his/her entire life!
Being a child born to a mother with alcohol addiction, I find this topic regarding FAS to be of extreme importance because it is something that is so easily preventable, and yet for some women who have alcohol addiction, the urge to drink heavily during pregnancy is not so easily overcome. This is a major issue for that of the unborn child who is going to have to live with the consequences of that alcohol addiction for the rest of their lives. It's estimated that each year in the United States alone, that 1 in every 750 infants is born a pattern of physical, functional, and developmental problems...referred to as Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS), while another 40, 000 are born with Fetal Alcohol Effects (FAE).
So what happens if a woman knows that drinking while pregnant is dangerous? What are some characteristics that would still drive someone to abuse alcohol in a heavy way? Well after reading a study of some methods by the Aberdeen Area Indian Health Service (IHS) and the national IHS Institutional Review Boards: Maternal alcohol abuse was defined when one or more of the following patterns of drinking were recorded in the maternal medical record: (1) heavy, which included terms "heavy," "intoxicated," "alcohol abuse," "drunk," and "alcoholism;" (2) binge drinking of five or more drinks per occasion or blood alcohol levels higher than 200 mg/dL; or (3) daily alcohol use.
Many of the mothers within this case study had been reviewed through their medical records and concluding this study showed that these women were often victims of sexual abuse, depression, suicide attempts, cirrhosis, and maternal cognitive function. Ultimately this is defined in the study as cognitive problems that differed from those caused by adult alcohol abuse but that are typical of adults who are affected by fetal alcohol exposurethemselves (poor judgment, poor memory, slow learning, and lack of abstract thinking skills).
FAS is a serious diagnosis among babies within the United States and in order to fully understand why the most common cause of preventable mental retardation in the United States is still an ongoing issue, it is important to delve into the characteristics of those mothers of children with FAS in order to address the needs that are going to prevent future prenatal alcohol exposure.
Drugs & Pregnancy
One of the reason's I was so initially interested in taking a class on Women & Drugs has to do with the fact that my birth mother was addicted to crack cocaine and also had abusive relationships with various other illicit drugs and alcohol while she was pregnant with me. I have always wanted to learn further in the reasonings for why drugs are so harmful towards not only them but for the unborn baby seeing as how this directly affects my life on a daily basis. For pregnant women, drug abuse is doubly harmful because not only is it dangerous for the mother, but it can harm the health of that of the unborn child. Virtually abusing all illegal drugs, such as heroin, cocaine, opiates etc. poses dangers to pregnant women. This doesn't demean the fact that even legal substances such as to alcohol, tobacco, and even prescription drugs can be harmful for the health of the mother and the baby-to-be.
The reason it is so vital for a pregnant woman to steer clear of drugs has to do with the development and stages of prenatal organ growth. Most of the bodily organs and systems of the unborn baby are formed within the first ten weeks of the pregnancy, and during this stage drugs and alcohol use can cause malformations in parts of the fetus such as the heart, brain, limbs, and facial features. After the tenth week the fetus starts to grow more rapidly in size and weight and drugs may damage organs that are still developing. The greatest danger drugs pose within this stage of prenatal growth is that of the unborn baby having a normal growth.
For myself personally I was born with some minor birth defects due to my mother's drug and alcohol use and even at twenty one and as a junior in college I still am affected by her drug use everyday. My struggles while growing up and developing as a child were great and I constantly had to have testing done to see where my learning ability was. When I was born had an extremely low birthweight, was premature, and had heart problems that nearly led to me dying. Seeing as alcohol is one of the most dangerous drugs pregnant women can abuse I was very sick and was monitored for serious birth defects such as Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS) and actually have some minor characteristics of FAS. Heavy drinking during early pregnancy increases the risk of a cluster of birth defects such as FAS, this cluster includes: abnormal facial features, heart defects, small skull, and can accompany mental retardation.
Drugs & Pregnancy
Drugs & Pregnancy
Monday, March 14, 2011
Glamorization of Drugs In Rap Music
After reading a very interesting article entitled, "Glamorization of Drugs in Rap Music: Linked to Greater Risk of Alcohol and Drug Use Among Adolescents," I find it very intriguing that while years ago, drugs might have depicted the dangers and negative consequences regarding drug use, now it isn't rare that you find many of today's popular rap songs celebrating drug use and actually having such songs referring or referencing drugs going platinum on the charts. Drug references in early rap songs such "White Lines" by Grandmaster Flash exposed the destructiveness of cocaine, but nowadays there is this link of drug use and the growing of the commercial success it has within the music industry. Particularly what I found the most concerning within the article is the idea that the image rap artists today are portraying of drug use in the Black community and towards adolescents of color distorts their reality. Young black people actually have lower rates of drug and alcohol abuse compared to their white peers, however, one wouldn't think that by the ways in which drug use is based within the lyrics of rap music.
"...The trajectory in rap music raises a number of red flags. Rap music is especially appealing to young people, many of whom look up to rappers as role models. As a public health researcher, and as a parent of a 7-year-old, I'm concerned about the impact that long-term exposure to this music has on its listeners." According to Denise Herd, the associate professor in the division of Community Health and Human Development at the University of California, Berkeley's School of Public Health, drug illegal drug use has and is becoming increasingly linked to wealth, glamour, social standing, etc. A study shows that this might have very well started nearly two decades ago, since about 1979, when Sugar Hill Gang's "Rappers Delight" hit charts and introduced to a mainstream inner-city youth. Ra artists have become trendsetters and key role models especially for youth of color, and their music serves as a huge outlet for the nations youth. However, one must ponder as to whether or not the messages within rap music deliver positive messages, because in today's society the negative influences young people are exposed to through the media in regards to films, video games, music, television shows etc. only further depict drug and alcohol use in a positive light.
Glamorization Of Drugs In Rap Music Linked To Greater Risk Of Alcohol And Drug Use Among Adolescents
"...The trajectory in rap music raises a number of red flags. Rap music is especially appealing to young people, many of whom look up to rappers as role models. As a public health researcher, and as a parent of a 7-year-old, I'm concerned about the impact that long-term exposure to this music has on its listeners." According to Denise Herd, the associate professor in the division of Community Health and Human Development at the University of California, Berkeley's School of Public Health, drug illegal drug use has and is becoming increasingly linked to wealth, glamour, social standing, etc. A study shows that this might have very well started nearly two decades ago, since about 1979, when Sugar Hill Gang's "Rappers Delight" hit charts and introduced to a mainstream inner-city youth. Ra artists have become trendsetters and key role models especially for youth of color, and their music serves as a huge outlet for the nations youth. However, one must ponder as to whether or not the messages within rap music deliver positive messages, because in today's society the negative influences young people are exposed to through the media in regards to films, video games, music, television shows etc. only further depict drug and alcohol use in a positive light.
Glamorization Of Drugs In Rap Music Linked To Greater Risk Of Alcohol And Drug Use Among Adolescents
Saturday, March 12, 2011
Women, Drugs, & Sex: A Connection In Society?
After reading about the "Classic Era" in Substance & Shadow: Women & Addiction in the United States by Stephen Kandall, I was more interested in talking about drug use within Hollywood, amongst celebrities, and in general how women are often portrayed. I feel that this an important topic of discussion because in today's society we are exposed to many images, articles, advertisements, etc. within the media of female celebrities being glamorized for their drug use. As a culture obsessed and totally engulfed in the media world, it is undoubtedly noticeable that when we see women connected with drug use, we often times see it as this glamorized and over-sexualized image. Why is it that many of these female celebrities are idolized for their drug use? I feel as thought that the messages sent to young adolescent females who are exposed to this sort of thing only get the idea that it is cool and acceptable to do drugs, whether good or bad simply because they hear or see celebrities connected to drug use.
Furthermore, after writing a response to a fellow classmates blog regarding this topic, I found it interesting the correlation of inferiority connected to women and drugs through sexuality. Although many view that drug use is significantly different between women and men; which is true, why is it that women have to be associated with sex when thinking about women and drugs? Kandall mentions within the chapter that men were characterized as compulsive and dangerous criminals that were addicts but women’s drug use was associated with sexuality. I find that particularly interesting seeing as women have always had this inferior role in regards to men in society, and the connection with drug use and sexuality only further shows this inferiority by sort of implying that not only drugs, but that women are objects. If women and drugs are constantly glamorized through society then that is only supporting this idea that women are objectified and that their use of drugs is only susceptible if its in a sexualized way. This is why we see so many female celebrities juggling these drug habits because it has been portrayed to society that these women are sex symbols and if drugs are being glamorized as sexy too then these images were exposed to only further support this idea.
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