Drug Abuse as a Social Problem: A Look at the Conflict and Functionalist Perspectives

In conclusion, drug abuse presents a prevalent issue in today's society. The conflict theory of sociology states that society functions so that each individual participant and its group struggles to maximize their benefits, which inevitably contributes to social change (such as changes in politics and revolutions.) This theory attempts to refute the functionalist perspective of social problems, which considers that societies function so that each individual and group plays a specific role, like organs in the body. A conflict theorist would suggest solving the problem of drug abuse by accommodating the needs of people in the classes suffering from drug use and educating them on the effects of drugs. The functionalist theorist, on the other hand, would suggest becoming more actively involved by reforming institutions as a whole and helping to redefine the abusers' roles in society. Drug abuse is a very prevalent problem in the United States today and sociological theories provide for many different solutions.…