4 ms·

I think it’s very true that availability and norms will have a lot to do with drug use, and heroin often doesn’t give a second chance to people who are experime

I think it’s very true that availability and norms will have a lot to do with drug use, and heroin often doesn’t give a second chance to people who are experimenting. However the with regard to the idea of ‘deep seated issues’ affecting addiction, I believe this is also true. We have communities here that provide the opportunity for perfect control of substances - they’re remote and access to them is strictly controlled. There was widespread alcohol addiction in these places. So alcohol was banned, and these places became ‘dry’ communities. Lacking alcohol, the people turned to inhaling petrol fumes, which created a large social problem. Eventually, an ‘un-sniffable’ petrol was created to solve this problem. Then the people turned to paint and glue. It’s recognized that the people in those communities have suffered a deep, inter-generational trauma, which is what drives people to seek ‘numbing’ relief from substances. However, it’s the belief that reducing availability of substances will solve substance abuse that’s kept the fundamental problems these people have, from being addressed.

monoideism 6y ago
> It’s recognized that the people in those communities have suffered a deep, inter-generational trauma, Really? What about the Jewish people, who have been subjected to extremely high levels of inter-generational trauma. Yet they don't fall prey to particularly high levels of alcoholism or drug addiction. Sure, current poverty can predispose some to addiction, but the idea of "inter-generational trauma" being a massive risk factor is unproven, to say the least.
glangdale 6y ago
I think you're taking the wrong point away, which is that the causal implication here runs from "wide availability of a substance -> addiction to that substance". It doesn't say anything about whether a traumatized group will or won't take to substances; it just denies that all addiction is the result of trauma. The other open question here - I assume you're referring to remote Indigenous communities in Australia - is whether people use substances strictly out of trauma or also out of boredom. The degree to which Indigenous lives are rendered both traumatic but also incredibly boring is shocking. If you've gotten a low quality education, don't have a job and your traditional way of life is no longer viable (it's quite likely you haven't been taught it), how are you going to pass the time?

monoideism 6y ago

> It’s recognized that the people in those communities have suffered a deep, inter-generational trauma, Really? What about the Jewish people, who have been subjected to extremely high levels of inter-generational trauma. Yet they don't fall prey to particularly high levels of alcoholism or drug addiction. Sure, current poverty can predispose some to addiction, but the idea of "inter-generational trauma" being a massive risk factor is unproven, to say the least.

glangdale 6y ago

I think you're taking the wrong point away, which is that the causal implication here runs from "wide availability of a substance -> addiction to that substance". It doesn't say anything about whether a traumatized group will or won't take to substances; it just denies that all addiction is the result of trauma. The other open question here - I assume you're referring to remote Indigenous communities in Australia - is whether people use substances strictly out of trauma or also out of boredom. The degree to which Indigenous lives are rendered both traumatic but also incredibly boring is shocking. If you've gotten a low quality education, don't have a job and your traditional way of life is no longer viable (it's quite likely you haven't been taught it), how are you going to pass the time?