Uses Drug War Politics to Outline the Sociological Theory of how "Private Troubles" Become "Social Issues"

Drug use has been a part of most likely every society since the since drugs were first discovered. Marijuana use has been traced back as far back as the 2727 B.C. when it was used by the Chinese as medicine for a gamut of different ailments (Henslin, pg. 89). Tobacco was first discovered by western civilization when Christopher Columbus found Native Americans smoking the leaves of this ominous plant upon his arrival to this continent (Henslin, pg. 89). Alcohol (beer, wine, and spirits, caffeine (through the consumption of coffee, coca (the leaf that cocaine is derived from), and opium (from the poppy flower) have all been part of society for hundreds of years, however this does not institute a social problem. A social problem arrives when a private trouble like drug addiction (the use or overuse of a drug such that it becomes harmful to the user) becomes recognized by other people as something that society should find threatening, inappropriate, or despicable. …