Drug and Alcohol Consumption as Functions of Social Structures: A Cross-cultural Sociology: v. 47 (Mellen Studies in Sociology S.)

This work uses classical sociological theory to demonstrate how the processes of rationalization and modernization have altered why, how, and how frequently people consume drugs. It is with great pleasure that I introduce this important book on drug use. While books on the subject abound, it is always refreshing to find a scholarly text on drug use that offers a new vantage point on this complicated and ever present social phenomenon. This is such a book. James Hawdon has skillfully synthesized classic sociological thought to craft a general theory of drugs that provides us with significant insights into human drug use. He has also painstakingly gathered the existing data on drug use throughout the world to put his new theory to the test. The result is a broad macro-sociological theory of drug use, firmly grounded in a wealth of empirical evidence, which has much to offer both academics and policy makers alike. Recognizing the often-problematic nature of defining what is considered a drug and what is not, the book provides a working definition of drugs that includes both the psychoactive aspects of substances and the political reality that goes into defining what substances society recognizes as drugs. Drugs have become extremely politicized. Whether it is moral entrepreneurs concerned with saving souls, political entrepreneurs concerned with constituencies and elections, or some other interested parties, drugs have come to be defined as "magical" substances that are somehow different from other things. Hawdon demonstrates that this special status that drugs have acquired is largely unfounded. While drugs can be very powerful substances, treating drugs as totally different from all other commodities has led many to approach issues related to drug use in a manner that is often misguided or even counterproductive. It is important to remember that drugs, both legal and illegal, are basically just commodities. The same economic forces of supply and demand that influence the consumption patterns of other commodities impact the consumption of drugs. What is more, larger social forces, including modernization and rationalization, also shape these consumption patterns. And demonizing these substances tends to obscure the social reality of drugs and drug use. The nature of drug use is largely predicated on the context in which the drug use takes place. Hawdon points out that whether or not a drug has been socially defined as sacred by a social group plays an essential role in how a drug is used and the extent to which it is abused by members of that group. There is nothing inherently sacred about any given drug. A drug becomes sacred only when the collectivity defines it as such and maintains beliefs and rites that support the drug's sacred status. Moreover, social forces such as modernization and scientific rationality have increasingly impacted religious practices and, in turn, changed the nature of sacred drug use. This influence is especially evident in the patterns of drug use in more modernized western societies. Hawdon notes that the differences in social control over sacred versus profane drug using behaviors are important. While defining drugs as sacred restricts drug using behaviors, it prescribes certain drug using behaviors as well. In contrast, restrictions on drugs defined as profane are basically negative in nature, either restricting or prohibiting drug use, but not requiring drug use. The difference has significant ramifications. Sacred drug use requires the use of the sacred drugs by certain people at specific times and in a specific manner. At the same time, generally, the proscriptions of sacred drug use tend to make abuse of these drugs much less likely and the rituals related to sacred use also serve an integrative function for the people within this belief system. Conversely, the use of profane drugs is not so influenced, thus drugs defined as profane are prone to greater variations in who, when, and how they are