Past and Current Trends
Garrett Buckley
PSY/425
November 6, 2012
Kris Topaz
Past and Current Trends

The United States has battled with the war on drug use for years. Although the trends and the drugs have changed, one thing remains the same. Drug use is dangerous and could result in serious injury or even death. Drug use has had an impact in society past and present with various trends, religious influence, and creating health and social problems in the United States.
The first areas we must recognize are the past and current trends that have influenced drug use. Near the end of the nineteenth century was the introduction of drugs created for a certain problem or disease. These drugs were considered a marvel for medical science at the time. The biggest problem this created was how accessible these drugs were to the general public. People could find somebody on the street corner selling opiates and cocaine. During the twentieth century we witnessed the twentieth amendment, which was prohibition, and alcohol was no longer legal to buy or sell in the United States. Even though alcohol related deaths declined, prohibition helped establish a vast criminal underworld. Criminal organizations would shed blood all over city streets over the trade of liquor. These criminal organizations from the days of prohibition have greatly influenced the organizations in drug trafficking today. During the 1960’s drug use had a influence on music. Recording artists would use drugs and share their experiences in the lyrics they wrote. An article written by the UOPX Writers Network states,” Curiosity About expanding the mind led to experimentation, influenced in some cases by the use of cannabis as well as more powerful drugs, including hallucinogens (UOPX Writer Network, para. 3). This was a time where psychadellic drugs were used to alter the mind of the user based on what music they were listening to. I believe that the youth of america used these drugs as a way to rebel against their parents as well as the rest of society.
Today there are many trends that influence drug use. The ever growing popularity of rave parties with todays youth has skyrocketed the use of drugs such as extacy and LSD and encourage drug use in party type situations. Music has a big factor today on drug use just like it did in the 1960’s. Todays drug trends are not always aimed for recreational use. Today athletes more than ever, have been caught using performance enhancing drugs. The ongoing pressure put on by the superficial media drives youths to use and abuse steroids because all men on billboards and advettisements are muscular and ripped. I feel that the biggest difference between the trends of drug use and today and yesterday are the fact that people today are so worried about fitting in and they give in to peer pressure today more than ever.
Drugs can be influenced by ones culture or religion. There are many counrries throughout the world where drugs such as opiates and cannibus are used in religious practices. Hinduism encourages Soma and Cannabis plants be used in times of worship or personally(Drugs and Religion, para. 6). Hallucinogens have been used for spiritual journeys in many different cultures throughout the world. There are some cultures such as christianity that consider drinking in excess and drug use is a sin (Drugs and Religion, para. 8).
There are many health and social problems that drug use has created in the United states. One of the biggest problems is medical marijuana cards and the way they are abused. I know from personal experience that you cant walk down the