Legal, Illegal - It's All Lost In The Haze

It is often difficult to see where the line is drawn when it comes to the topic of legal and illegal drugs. On a college campus, it especially becomes challenging because this is where many misconceptions about drugs can become prevalent.

According to Merrill Singer, a UConn professor of anthropology, addresses these misconceptions between legal and illegal substances in his new book titled, "Drugging the Poor: Legal and Illegal Drugs and Social Inequality.""In the book, I'm trying to make the point that our conceptions and the way we think about drugs - trying to make a separation between the legal and illegal - is to a degree, a fantasy," Merrill said, according to an article published in The University of Connecticut Advance.Merrill's book discusses the idea that, "drugs impact users in the same way and are intertwined."

In other words, differences can be drawn between the two types of drugs, yet the wall of separation between them can run very thin."The terms legal and illegal do not make a difference … there are legal drugs moving to a 'street level' type of drug," according to Barry Schreier, Director of Counseling and Mental Health Services at UConn. Schreier said that abuse of legal drugs, such as OxyContin and Ritalin is a growing problem.

Another point that Singer tries to make in his new book, is the idea that there are misconceptions about the type of individuals who abuse drugs. He also addresses how advertising and money runs the drug industry. Tom Szigethy, Director of Alcohol and Other Drugs Services at UConn, has various views on this particular issue."Students don't realize they have been affected by advertising [before they come to UConn] … they realize when they are on campus," Szigethy said. Drug and alcohol industries promote their products and they do not want to know the consequences that the products may have on consumers, especially underage consumers according to Szigethy.

"The alcohol industry does not have federal constituency to overlook them," he said. Singer's book also addresses social inequality and how "decade after decade [passes] with only occasional flare-ups of social unrest."Szigethy makes the point about socio-economic status and how "The impoverished have less resources … and money talks in society."Szigethy also said how most advertisements are targeted "toward a socio-economic stance," which tends to target the lower classes.Schreier says that everything "depends upon each individual." Szigethy added that "Students have the power to change a situation … a voice has to be given to those who use healthy behavior." Individuals simply need to see that they can make a difference.Singer addresses many issues in his new book, and they are issues he thinks that will take time to be addressed completely. Yet, he makes it clear that there are misconceptions when it comes to legal and illegal drugs. Singer also discusses how these industries are driven by money and advertisements, and how drug abuse is heavily targeted at the impoverished areas.

Source: http://media.www.dailycampus.com/media/storage/paper340/news/2007/10/30/News/Legal.Illegal.Its.All.Lost.In.The.Haze-3065157.shtml