Biology, Ecology and Substance Addiction
The biological and ecological approaches of anthropology are lenses that anthropologists use to gain a better understanding of the underlying reason for a certain phenomenon. The ecological approach maintains that we live in an ecosystem, and this ecosystem is composed of all the interactions that occur between all entities on earth. The biological approach (which medical ecology is rooted in) postulates that certain behaviors are adaptive traits developed in response to patterns in these ecological interactions.
In the 1990s methamphetamine rose in popularity, and anthropologists quickly noticed that a high proportion of “youths, rural populations, Latinos, Native Americans, and gay/bisexual men” were at risk of methamphetamine use (Gorman, 1997). Those participating in male-to-male sex were of particular concern because all of those behaviors being major risk factors for HIV infection. In his case study investigating a population of male methamphetamine users in Seattle, Gorman found that the majority of interviewees had developed “intense associations” between injecting methamphetamine and engaging in sexual activity. A positive interaction within the Seattle ecosystem was that half of the methamphetamine injecting males interviewed said they used the local needle exchange program, though many also stated that they had shared needles at one point in their life. One man said once he found out that he was HIV positive, he just assumed anyone he was doing drugs with was HIV positive as well. Many of these men also abused other drugs such as marijuana, heroin, cocaine – but methamphetamine was their favorite. Gorman also explored the interaction between physicians and methamphetamine injectors, and discovered that many of his interviewees had lied about their sexual behavior and drug use to physicians and healthcare providers for fear of not receiving medical treatment. One healthcare worker said that homosexual intravenous methamphetamine users are a difficult population to deal with, another barrier to treatment.
According to McElroy (2004), the health of a population is a product of its ecosystem and the behaviors the population uses to maintain homeostasis in that ecosystem. Substance dependence across a specific population may occur in response to a stressor placed on that population – for example the fear of HIV from risky behaviors commonly encountered in that population.
In Gravlee’s 2009 paper he addresses the recent change in race being thought of as a social construct and not a biological certainty. These constructs that seemingly come to humanity “naturally” end up creating biases and tension between populations which can alienate and further segregate those populations.
While medial ecology typically doesn’t emphasize the implications between politics and disease that could be partially explained by the relationship between drug control spending and the substance addiction rate in the United States. Despite the US dumping money into drug control, no appreciable decrease in addiction rate has occurred. This might be indicative of ineffective programs and misspending. Gorman’s research also noted that health care professionals expressed a lack of funds when it came to treating those with substance disorders, something that should be alarming in an age when the United States spends more of the drug war than it ever has.
Bibliography
Gorman, Micheal, Ben David-Barr, Anthony Hanson, Bruce Robertson, and Caleb Green. "Speed, Sex, Gay Men, and HIV: Ecological and Community Perspectives." Medical Anthropology Quarterly. no. 4 (1197): 505-515. http://www.jstor.org/stable/649537 (accessed August 15, 2013).
Gravlee, Clarence. "How Race Becomes Biology: Embodiment of Social Inequality." Americal Journal of Physical Anthropology. no. 193 (2009): 47-57. http://anthropology.msu.edu/anp204-us13/files/2012/06/Gravlee-How-Race-Becomes-Biology-Embodiment-of-Social-Inequality.pdf (accessed August 15, 2013).
McElroy, Ann, ed. Encyclopedia of Medical Anthropology. Dordrecht: Kluwer, 2004. s.v. "Evolutionary and Ecological Perspectives." http://anthropology.msu.edu/anp204-us13/files/2012/06/McElroy-Evolutionary-and-Ecological-Perspectives.pdf (accessed August 15, 2013).
The biological and ecological approaches of anthropology are lenses that anthropologists use to gain a better understanding of the underlying reason for a certain phenomenon. The ecological approach maintains that we live in an ecosystem, and this ecosystem is composed of all the interactions that occur between all entities on earth. The biological approach (which medical ecology is rooted in) postulates that certain behaviors are adaptive traits developed in response to patterns in these ecological interactions.
In the 1990s methamphetamine rose in popularity, and anthropologists quickly noticed that a high proportion of “youths, rural populations, Latinos, Native Americans, and gay/bisexual men” were at risk of methamphetamine use (Gorman, 1997). Those participating in male-to-male sex were of particular concern because all of those behaviors being major risk factors for HIV infection. In his case study investigating a population of male methamphetamine users in Seattle, Gorman found that the majority of interviewees had developed “intense associations” between injecting methamphetamine and engaging in sexual activity. A positive interaction within the Seattle ecosystem was that half of the methamphetamine injecting males interviewed said they used the local needle exchange program, though many also stated that they had shared needles at one point in their life. One man said once he found out that he was HIV positive, he just assumed anyone he was doing drugs with was HIV positive as well. Many of these men also abused other drugs such as marijuana, heroin, cocaine – but methamphetamine was their favorite. Gorman also explored the interaction between physicians and methamphetamine injectors, and discovered that many of his interviewees had lied about their sexual behavior and drug use to physicians and healthcare providers for fear of not receiving medical treatment. One healthcare worker said that homosexual intravenous methamphetamine users are a difficult population to deal with, another barrier to treatment.
According to McElroy (2004), the health of a population is a product of its ecosystem and the behaviors the population uses to maintain homeostasis in that ecosystem. Substance dependence across a specific population may occur in response to a stressor placed on that population – for example the fear of HIV from risky behaviors commonly encountered in that population.
In Gravlee’s 2009 paper he addresses the recent change in race being thought of as a social construct and not a biological certainty. These constructs that seemingly come to humanity “naturally” end up creating biases and tension between populations which can alienate and further segregate those populations.
While medial ecology typically doesn’t emphasize the implications between politics and disease that could be partially explained by the relationship between drug control spending and the substance addiction rate in the United States. Despite the US dumping money into drug control, no appreciable decrease in addiction rate has occurred. This might be indicative of ineffective programs and misspending. Gorman’s research also noted that health care professionals expressed a lack of funds when it came to treating those with substance disorders, something that should be alarming in an age when the United States spends more of the drug war than it ever has.
Bibliography
Gorman, Micheal, Ben David-Barr, Anthony Hanson, Bruce Robertson, and Caleb Green. "Speed, Sex, Gay Men, and HIV: Ecological and Community Perspectives." Medical Anthropology Quarterly. no. 4 (1197): 505-515. http://www.jstor.org/stable/649537 (accessed August 15, 2013).
Gravlee, Clarence. "How Race Becomes Biology: Embodiment of Social Inequality." Americal Journal of Physical Anthropology. no. 193 (2009): 47-57. http://anthropology.msu.edu/anp204-us13/files/2012/06/Gravlee-How-Race-Becomes-Biology-Embodiment-of-Social-Inequality.pdf (accessed August 15, 2013).
McElroy, Ann, ed. Encyclopedia of Medical Anthropology. Dordrecht: Kluwer, 2004. s.v. "Evolutionary and Ecological Perspectives." http://anthropology.msu.edu/anp204-us13/files/2012/06/McElroy-Evolutionary-and-Ecological-Perspectives.pdf (accessed August 15, 2013).