1. Social Problems in the United States

2. In the US, there are many different social issues which effect everyday life.
Even though there may be laws to try to prevent these social problems from happening, other things in society can stop the laws from having much effect.
Also, the way people have behaved for many years can sometimes take a long time to change.
One part of American life that can have an effect on other social problems is poverty.

3. Poverty
The most common measure of poverty in the US is the “poverty threshold”.
If a person is below the poverty threshold, it means that they do not have access to the goods and services which most members of society take for granted.
The most important of these is obviously food.
Over 10% of Americans live below the poverty line

4. The US also has high rates of relative poverty.
This means that compared with the income most people get, some people are on a very low income.
Although one cause for this is the high rate of income many Americans have, it also means that American society is very unequal.
Poverty can be directly related to other social problems.
It can be caused by other problems, and it can cause other problems to happen.

5. Education System
Because of the way the education system in the US is set up, the wealth of the people in a area can effect how much money the schools get.
In very poor areas of the US, the local government may not have as much money to spend on education.
So while the schools can still get money from the state government, they miss out on money from the local government.

6. When a school has less money, it cannot provide the students with the same resources as richer schools, and the students may end up not getting as good an education as students in richer areas.
This creates a vicious cycle, because people who don’t have a very good education will not be able to get a very good job, and so the community may get even poorer.
Lack of education combined with poverty can also lead to other problems, like drug abuse.

7. Drug Abuse
There are many different types of recreational drugs available in the US, most of which are illegal.
There are also problems with legal drugs such as alcohol and tobacco which have a high cost to society.
Drug abuse can cause other problems in society like violence and disease.

8. Types of Drugs Nicotine is the drug that is contained in cigarettes.
It is the nicotine which causes cigarettes to be addictive.
Cigarettes contain other dangerous chemicals as well, which cause health problems of the heart and lungs.
Smoking increases the the chance of heart attacks, strokes, cancer and other diseases.

9. Tobacco is the biggest cause of preventable (avoidable) death in the US and worldwide.
Since scientists discovered the health problems linked to smoking, there have been various changes to the way smoking is viewed in the US.
People below the age of 18 cannot buy cigarettes in the US, and there are various restrictions on advertising and sale of cigarettes.

10. For many years the tobacco companies, which made huge amounts of money from cigarettes, denied that smoking effected people’s health.
But in the 1990s, there were several court cases in the US about this issue.
It was discovered that the tobacco companies had known for many years that smoking was unhealthy and addictive, and that they deliberately lied about it to make keep making money.

11. Alcohol is another type of drug in the US that causes problems for society.
Alcohol is addictive, and when people become alcoholics, they are much more likely to have health problems such as liver disease.
There are also problems caused by alcohol such as binge drinking and drink driving.
In the US, you have to be 21 before you can buy alcohol, and many states have various other restrictions such as when you can buy it.
These two drugs are restricted, but not illegal in the US.

12. While the US is only about 4% of the world’s population, they consume 65% of the world’s drugs
Tobacco kills about 400,000 Each year
Alcohol kills about 80,000
Workplace accidents kill 60,000
Automobiles kill 40,000
Cocaine kills about 2,500
Heroin kills about 2,000
Aspirin kills about 2,000
Marijuana kills 0

13. Marijuana, also called cannabis, comes from the cannabis plant, which is native to Asia.
It is the most popular illegal drug in the US.
Most of the marijuana in the US is grown in indoor secret plantations.
Marijuana can be used in a few different popular ways, most of which involve burning the dried plants and breathing the smoke.
The two most popular ways are using a bong, and smoking a joint

15. A bong is a tube filled with water, which usually has a small cone off to one side.
The marijuana is put in the cone and set alight, and then the smoker sucks the smoke through the water and into their mouth.
A joint is just like a cigarette, but instead of just tobacco inside, it also has chopped up marijuana.
There is debate in the US about whether marijuana should be illegal or not.

16. Some people argue that since it doesn’t harm anyone, it should not be a crime to use it.
However it is also argued that using marijuana leads to the use of more dangerous drugs.
The second most popular illegal recreational drug in the US is cocaine.
Cocaine is a drug obtained from the leaves of the coca plant, which is native to South America.
It comes in two main forms, what is usually called just cocaine, and crack cocaine.

17. Cocaine can be inhaled (breathed in) as a powder, and this form is used by more middle and upper class users.
It can also come in the form of crystals, and this is called crack cocaine, or just crack.
Crack is put into a pipe, and heated until it starts to melt and give off a vapour, which is inhaled through the pipe.
Crack is usually more popular among poorer people.

18. The dangers of cocaine to the health of users are mainly to do with the toxic chemicals which may be added to the cocaine.
Sometimes the dealers will mix other chemicals with the drug to increase the amount.
Cocaine is addictive in a psychological way, in that users like the feeling it gives them, and want more.

19. Heroin is a drug made from the opium poppy.
Heroin in the US comes mostly from South America, in Mexico and Columbia, but also from other places like South-East Asia.
It can be used in many different ways, but injecting is the most common, and provides the users with the most effect.
The users mix the powder with water then heat it up and melt it.
They then inject it into a vein with a needle.

20. There are many dangers to heroin use, such as overdose.
If a user injects more heroin than their body can handle, they will stop breathing, and without medical help may die.
There are also problems associated with using needles to inject heroin, such as the danger of disease.
Deadly diseases such as AIDS can be transmitted between users who share needles.

21. As with cocaine, there are sometimes other chemicals mixed with the heroin, which might also be toxic.
Heroin is psychologically addictive, with users wanting to experience the good feeling, and when it is used for long periods of time can also be physically addictive.

22. Methamphetamine is another popular drug in the US, often made from the chemicals in cold and flu medication.
It is also commonly smoked with a pipe, and can be produced in small labs in the US.
These labs are very dangerous, however, as making methamphetamines produces many dangerous poisonous gases.
Other drugs which are popular include party drugs like ecstasy.

23. The use of drugs, especially ‘hard’ drugs like cocaine and heroin, can be closely linked to poverty and also to education and race.
Arrests for using and/or selling heroin are much more common among black Americans than other races.
Often, the poor areas of a city will not only have the problems of poverty, but will also have low education, lots of drug problems, and very bad crime.