2.6 Chapter Summary

Key Summary Points

  1. How we view and respond to psychoactive substances and the people who use them, varies across time and culture.
  2. A constructionist lens can be used to help understand changing definitions of drugs, and the impact of context (e.g., political, social, legal, cultural) on our attitudes and beliefs about drugs and the people who use them.
  3. Constructionists point to the role human interaction and interpretation play in the way we view social phenomena and our social reality.
  4. Claims-making and counter claims-making play a key role in defining and redefining social issues, such as substance use.

Additional Resources

Below are a list of supplementary resources for students interested in learning more about the chapter topics. These resources are NOT required course materials.

Additional Viewings

Čeika, Jonas. (June 13, 2018). What does social construction really mean? [Video]. YouTube. https://youtu.be/-UpSoosy9ws Icon with exclamation mark inside a hexagon to signal potentially emotionally difficult or distressing course content.(this video uses some out of date stigmatizing terms pertaining to substance use and substance use disorders)

Dowl, D. (April 7, 2021). Ken Gergen The social construction of reality [Video]. Vimeo. https://vimeo.com/534071809

Providence. (December 19, 2014). What does ‘the social construction of reality’ mean? By Dr. Dennis Hiebert [Video]. YouTube. https://youtu.be/SqFhd-Igs6w

Rohall, D. (August 10, 2020). SOC 360 Lecture 1 The social construction of reality [Video]. YouTube. https://youtu.be/K1bVdql7Ooo

Sponsini, F. (April 17, 2014). Ken Gergen talks about social constructionist ideas, theory and practice [Video]. YouTube. https://youtu.be/-AsKFFX9Ib0

TEDx Talks. (May 10, 2017). The social construction of facts: Surviving a post-truth world – Massimo Maoret [Video]. YouTube. https://youtu.be/7tHbSasnvno

Additional Readings

Berger, P. & Luckmann, T. (1966). The social construction of reality: A treatise in the sociology of knowledge. Anchor Books. https://www.penguinrandomhouse.ca/books/12390/the-social-construction-of-reality-by-peter-l-berger/9780385058988

Gstrein, V. (2018). Ideation, social construction & drug policy – A scoping review. International Journal of Drug Policy, 51, 75-86. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.drugpo.2017.10.011

Lancaster, K. (2014). Social construction and the evidence-based drug policy endeavour. International Journal of Drug Policy, 25, 984-951. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.drugpo.2014.01.002

Loseke, D. (2003). Thinking about social problems. Aldine de Gruyeter. https://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/mono/10.4324/9781315135601/thinking-social-problems-donileen-loseke

Reinarman, Craig and Levine, Harry. (2004). Crack in the rearview mirror: Deconstructing drug war mythology. Social Justice, 34(1/2), 182-199. https://www.jstor.org/stable/29768248

Reist, D., Bodner, N., & Capler, R. (n.d.). Ancient peoples & psychoactive plants. CISHR. https://www.uvic.ca/research/centres/cisur/assets/docs/iminds-ancient-peoples.pdf

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Psychoactive Substances & Society (2nd Edition)* Copyright © 2024 by Jacqueline Lewis & Jillian Holland-Penney is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License, except where otherwise noted.

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