SUBSTANCE ABUSE

University of Nairobi
Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies
DCC 208 – Contemporary Moral Issues
7th November, 2018
 • Define substance abuse.
• Identify the main causes of drug and
alcohol abuse
Objectives • Discuss the social and moral
consequences of drug and alcohol
abuse
• Recommend the possible solutions to
the problem of drug and alcohol abuse.
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 • Substance abuse can simply be defined
as a pattern of harmful use of any
substance for mood-altering purposes.
Substance "Substances" can include alcohol and
Abuse other drugs (illegal or not) as well as
some substances that are not drugs at
all.
• "Abuse" can result because you are
using a substance in a way that is not
intended or recommended, or because 3

you are using more than prescribed.

 • When used or taken in excessive
Signs of drugs amounts.
• When drugs are used without
and alcohol professional advice or monitoring
abuse • When certain banned drugs are used
or taken

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 • When the setting in which the drug is
used or alcohol taken is not appropriate
Signs of drugs or allowed
and alcohol • When there is apprehension over the
possible behavioral outcome or physical
abuse and psychological effects of taking the
drugs or alcohol.
• When the person involved is underage.
• When more resources and time are
devoted to the consumption of alcohol 5

or use of drugs.
 • Peer Pressure
Causes of • Curiosity and the desire to experiment or
Substance find out.
• The need to cope with problems
Abuse • The belief that one feels good after drug
use or alcohol consumption
• Idleness – the desire to kill boredom and
time (unemployment)
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 • The desire to remain awake
• The belief that drug use or alcohol
Causes of consumption can help one cope with
certain jobs and conditions e.g. when
Substance one is for example, a mortuary
Abuse attendant.
• Encroachment of foreign values
• Advertisements
• The desire to rebel against parents,
society or the older generations 7
 • Poor upbringing or parental care
• The belief that it reduces stress and
Causes of causes relaxations

Substance • Breakdown of the traditional social

fabric
Abuse • Poverty
• The desire to belong
• The desire to gain strength and courage

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Social and • Degeneration of the abusers moral character

Moral Effects of Drug abuse and alcoholism leads to a general

degeneration of the user’s moral character or
Substance disposition. When under the influence of drugs or
alcohol one loses moral control and will power, laying
Abuse himself/herself open to any suggestion that might be
made by any unscrupulous villains. In the long run drug
abuse and alcoholism leads to a general moral
breakdown in a society leading to increased cases of
crime such as rape, incest, domestic violence,
promiscuity, murder, robbery and other related evils.
Whenever there are many drunkards and drug abusers
in a certain region, it will obviously be followed by 9
many of the above evils.
Social and • Youths rebellion
Moral Effects of Increased cases of alcoholism and drug abuse
among the youths usually leads to some kind of
Substance sub-cultures and rebellion which manifests

Abuse themselves in many different ways such as

radical politics, sexual promiscuity, indecent
styles of dressing, school and college riots,
refusal to subscribe to old mores and deliberate
efforts to undermine institutions that symbolize
the old moves or systems. Increased cases of
sexual promiscuity, school riots which have also
claimed lives are usually triggered off by alcohol 10

and drug abusers.

Social and • STDs and Unwanted Pregnancies
Moral Effects of Alcoholism and drug abuse has contributed greatly to
the high prevalence of HIV/AIDS and unwanted
Substance pregnancies, in the country. Consequently many lives
have been lost and cases of criminal abortion, child
Abuse unwantedness and abuse have increased. When
under the influence of drugs and alcohol an individual
loses control over himself or herself and can easily
end up engaging in dangerous sexual behavior only to
regret the following day or later. Another common
thing among drug abusers is the tendency to share
certain needles used to inject some drugs which
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increases the risk of contracting HIV/AIDS and
hepatitis.
Social and
• Weakening religious hold on society
Moral Effects of An increased case of alcoholism and drug
Substance abuse has contributed to the weakening of the
hitherto religious hold on the youths and other
Abuse members of society leading to a reduced role
of religion in the molding of the youths. An
increasing number of young men and women
are no longer interested in religion and less and
less numbers are participating in religious
activities or worship. The role of religion in
society which has been immense is now being 12

challenged.
Social and
• Disruption of family life and marriages
Moral Effects of Drug abuse and alcoholism can disrupt family
Substance life and marriages through domestic violence,
abuse of children and libido reduction. Drug
Abuse addiction and alcoholism among parents can
be very detrimental to the welfare and future
of their children

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Social and
Moral Effects of • Substance abuse is expensive
Drug abuse is a very expensive habit to
Substance support and can easily turn a rich
Abuse person or family into a pauper or
paupers. This has its own harmful spill
over effects to the future of the
children and dependants of drug
abusers.
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Social and • Substance addiction
Moral Effects of Substance abuse and alcoholism can
lead to addiction. One of the most
Substance difficult things for drug abusers to do is
Abuse to stay off drugs once they have
become addicted. The physical and
mental agony of withdrawing is usually
too much for a drug abuser to bear. In
fact, most addicts can only stop their
habit in hospital or once they die. 15
Social and • Insanity, Brain damage and Senility
Moral Effects of Addiction to drugs has also been
reported to have led to insanity,
Substance organic brain damage and senility.
Abuse Indeed, higher educational institutions
have witnessed some of their students
who abuse drugs and end up losing
their sanity.

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Social and • Death
Moral Effects of Drug abuse and alcoholism can lead to
death through overdose or
Substance consumption of brews laced with
Abuse dangerous chemicals, death can also
come about through road accidents,
and the long term effects of drugs and
alcohol on an abuser’s body organs,
and health generally.
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Possible  Preventive drug education to remedy the
lack of knowledge about drugs and alcohol.
solution to Use anti-drug films, empower teachers and
parents with knowledge or drugs, use NGOs.
problem of  Provide employment opportunities for the
substance abuse youths, create more recreational facilities
through out the country, promote sporting
activities in every corner of the country.
 Facilitate the availability of guidance and
counseling services
 Set up national rehabilitation centers to
rehabilitate and treat drug abusers. 18
Possible  Establish approved schools to train and
counsel the abusers.
solution to  Promote public awareness through the
problem of mass media

substance abuse  Enforce existing laws on drug abuse and

trafficking. This will require an efficient and
corrupt free enforcement agents.
 Restrict access to and availability of drugs
and alcohol. This will decrease the
available amount of drugs and make their
cost high due to the short supply. 19
  John Stuart Mill argues that individual liberty is
so important such that the State should not
interfere with it, unless the individual concerned
Liberty & interferes happens to interfere liberty of others.

problem of  He argues that from a utilitarian perspective,

society is better off by tolerating any expression
substance abuse of individual liberty, so long as it does not
unjustly harm others.
 An individual’s liberty can only be interfered
with to prevent harm to others.
 An individual’s own good, either physical or
moral, is not a sufficient warrant for society to
interfere with his/her liberty (Leiser, 1985). 20
 A. Harm to Others
Individual liberty should be justifiably
limited to prevent harm to others ( for
example: drunk driving, we can't
Liberty limiting consume too much alcohol while
principles driving, because we can harm others on
the road ).
This principle is most widely accepted.
Even John Stuart Mill holds that only
the harm principle can justify the
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limitation of liberty.
 B. Harm to Self (Legal Paternalism)
Individual liberty is justifiably limited to
prevent harm to self (for example: the
fact that we have to wear motorcycle
Liberty limiting helmets while riding a motorcycle).
principles It's called legal paternalism, because
it's like legal parenting.
The laws are made to parent us in a
sort of way.
J. S. Mill clearly rejects this principle as 22

a basis for limiting liberty.

 C. Offense Principle
Liberty limiting Individual liberty is justifiably limited to
prevent offense to others.
principles For example, the older arguments for
censorship of pornography on the basis
of "obscenity" seem to rest upon the
legal moralism and offense principles.
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 D. The principle of Legal Moralism (Immorality)
 Individual liberty is justifiably limited to prevent
immoral behavior.
 When legal moralism is invoked, "community
Liberty limiting standards"--perhaps the opinion of the majority
in a particular community--are usually used to
principles determine what is moral and what is immoral.
 J. S. Mill clearly rejects use of this principle as a
basis for limiting liberty. In his view, to do so
would amount to "tyranny of the majority
 Mill believes government shouldn’t decide
something is immoral in democracy
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