Other groups (and thus another societal force) seek to change the way society perceives drugs, their use, and possible subsequent addiction.  One group (www.legalize.org)  is a proponent of such change, and though their name may instill an image of drug-induced madmen destroying society (to some people- see paragraph two), their idea of the legalization of drugs is a little different.  They are aware of the dangers of drug use and seek to end people’s ignorance of such dangers, and wish to do this not by legalizing drugs in a popular sense- there would be no heroin shops opening on the corner- but in their decriminalization.  That is to say, a drug user would get help for his/her drug problem; he/she would not be treated as a violent criminal and be carted off to prison- which would only cause more disillusionment with the world and self-doubt, which contributed to the addiction in the first place.

Some outlying social factors:
1. "Nancy Reagan" outlook
2. Informative Negative Reinforcement
3. Decriminalization

More intimate social forces:
1. Role Models
2. Peers
 
 

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