In the history of human society, drug addiction is almost always spoken of as a crime. The criminal drug business has become the 21st century’s epidemic, fevering all countries of the world without exception. According to Laidler (2016), “the connection between drugs and crime has been a second dominant theme, emerging as a key research agenda in the 1930s through the 1970s” (p.3). While pharmacologists research “the molecular action of drugs on organisms,” (Goode, 2014, p.92), sociologists and criminologists are more interested in their “capacity to influence moods, emotions, and intellectual processes.” (Goode, 2014, p.72). However, in order to understand these behaviors, it is essential to adopt a pharmacological perspective and understand drugs as physical substances and their effects on human beings.
It can be stated that drug addiction is a social, psychological, and medical problem at the same time. Criminologists assess drug addiction in different ways: some call it the cause of crime, others – a condition, as well as a factor accompanying criminal behavior. Regardless of the position taken, according to Goode (2014), understanding ED/LD ratio, acute-chronic distinction, drug use, and its consequences is “central to any social scientists” (p.93). Moreover, Goode (2014) highlights the significance of the intersection between drugs and human behavior. According to him, four factors, such as route of administration, dose, potency/purity, and drug mixing, are also crucial for a more profound understanding (Goode, 2014, p. 92). Understanding drug effects allow criminologists and sociologists to recognize the relationship between drug addiction and crime.
In conclusion, as stated by Goode (2014) and numerous studies, the pharmacological perspective is extremely important for social scientists. Drug intersection and drug use are claimed to be central topics for understanding. Whereas pharmacologists study drug effects in laboratories, sociologists study the effects of drug use in vivo. Thus, pharmacologist, sociologist, and criminologist perspectives complete each other and give a more holistic view of drug use and its effects.
References
Goode, E. (2014). Drugs in American society. Publisher.
Laidler, K. J. (2016). Criminological perspectives. In T. Kolind, B.Thom & G.Hunt (Eds.), The SAGE Handbook of Drug & Alcohol Studies: Social Science Approaches, (p.1673).Sage.