Prescription Drug Abuse in Society

Prescription Drug Abuse as a Social Problem and Solutions

May 1, 2011

Sociology 102:Social Problems

Professor Durso-Finley

The Functionalist Perspective believes that drug use is based on social norms, and therefore it is not normal for a person to abuse prescribed medications. Prescription pills are medications assigned to a person by a medical professional, intended for that person's use only in order to make a condition better and relieve the patient of those symptoms. The doctor will lay out a set of rules that direct you when to take it and for how long. Therefore, prescription drug abuse is a deviant behavior and occurs when there is a breakdown of control- whether based on an individual's behavior or society's overall control.

Prescribed drugs are especially appealing to young people, for many different reasons. The doctor prescribed these medications for someone in their household. That means all they have to do to get the medications is open the cabinet. If it was safe for mom or dad, brother or sister- than surely it was “safe” for them to use. Usually the young person will have seen a desired effect within a member of the household, sparking their interest. “20% of teens say they have taken a prescription drug without a doctor's prescription. Why?Some people think that prescription drugs are safer and less addictive than street drugs”. (Dowshen, 2010)

Functionalists believe that abuse is a product of the environment in which the abuser finds themselves. On a Macro level, therefore, the best way for Prescription drug abuse to be regulated is for them to be made less available. The United States has taken measures and precautions to take Prescription Drugs intended for misuse out of the hands of the public and is searching for “pill mills” that make available massive amounts of these drugs to known abusers. “The federal government announced its first-ever comprehensive strategy to combat the abuse of Oxycontin and...