DRUG IN AMERICAN SOCIETY

Drug in American Society

drugs in American society and Cold Mountain (Minghella,2003)

Introduction

In this paper we are discussing the issue of drug that is covered by the author Erich Goode in his work “drugs in American society” and the movie “Cold Mountain”. Throughout the book and the movie both campaigns prohibition ofdrugs and alcohol in the American soicety emerged as a part of much broader moral reform movement.

Discussion

The author, Erich Goode's book has a relevancy to the movie “Cold Mountain”. The author says that the drugs in the American society has placeed an array of well intentioned policies organized by cultural conservatives attempting to solve America's "drug problem”. Regrettably, rather than offering practical solutions, these laws are often nothing more than scarecrows of moralistic jingoism. The simpleminded often feel that once "the drug problem" is "solved" many social problems will simply disappear, without considering definitions for those very terms. Sadly most American law at the present time is of this method; furthermore it has become apparent that this scheme is ineffective. The latter part of this paper will outline a new drug policy that privileges pragmatism over pseudo-moralistic dogma. This policy will draw the best factors from groups such as cultural Conservatives, free market Libertarians, progressive legalizers as well as others. This policy will attempt to balance morality and practicality as well as eliminate racism and prejudice. Issues such as drug sales, possession, purity, eligibility, and restrictions will all be dealt with.

Erich Goode' work and the movie both elaborates that most educated people in America deem that contemporary policy regarding drug use in the United States is extremely skewed toward the sides of cultural Conservatives. Thus an explanation of these theorists' ideals is necessary. Cultural Conservatives look upon drugs as being harmful to our society; furthermore they believe that drug use is inherently deleterious to morality in the United States. A theory that thrives under this perspective is the control theory, in which criminal behavior is believed to be a breakdown of social control. These policies (provided by conservatives) began to arise in the nineteenth century and were based on a few lethal myths produced by White lawmakers more interested in attaining power than attaining justice. Thus these government officials became mythmakers, but one might ask how and why they would do such things.

The movie “cold Mountain” and Erich Goode both shows that the government so firmly embeds such ...