Current and Past Trends of Drug Use

Drug trends have been a huge part of the American society. Manipulations of drugs have been traced back as far as 4000 B.C. American society has become familiar with drugs since the 1700s. These drugs were mainly used for medical and therapeutic purposes however without any knowledge of their addictive characteristics. Trends of these drugs have drastically changed throughout the years as a result of influences it has on the American society.

During the Civil War injured soldiers were given morphine as an anesthetic to ease the pain without knowing the addiction it brings. A man by the name of John Pemberton was the founder of Coca-Cola, this drink contained cocaine and caffeine. Sometime after this the Pure Food and Drug act came into play in 1906; this required that a list of ingredients be visible on packaging which led to the removal of cocaine in Coca-Cola and many more products.

Throughout the years drugs and alcohol are not only used for medical purposes but are used inappropriately. In the 70's drugs were very common amongst the American society. The 70's was a time period of love, drugs, and rebellion. During this period there was a wide spread of AIDS and HIV. Some of the contributing factors to this spread were the use of dirty needles being used to inject drugs into the blood stream and unprotected sex influenced by the drugs people were on.

The American Culture encourages the use and abuse of drugs in many ways. Alcohol has been around for centuries and every culture has experienced drinking because people like the effects that alcoholic beverages have on them. Alcohol is considered a social beverage by many people in America and has been an established custom for more than three hundred years. Many social gatherings are centered on drinking alcohol. According to The Center on Alcohol Marketing and Youth (2008), advertisers spent more than two billion dollars on alcohol advertising in 2005. This included television, radio and printed media. Men tend to drink more than women and this is evident with the majority of advertisements being aimed towards men, with sports figures and attractive women in the ads. According to Maxwell (2006), "Emergency department visits involving non-medical use of pharmaceuticals usually involve multiple drugs as well as alcohol."The Drug Abuse Warning Network (DAWN ED) reported in 2004 that over a million visits to the emergency room were drug related due to misuse and patients between the ages of " 21 and 54 had the highest rates of emergency department visits for [reported] drugs"(Maxwell, 2006). Many health problems in the United States exist and can be attributed to drug abuse.

Another rising trend of illegal drugs are prescription and over-the counter drugs. It is easily accessible for teens to get their hands on. The most current of trends include and are not limited to, the use of cough syrup