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Johann Hari Essay

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1. What do you think Johann Hari means when he says everything you think you know about addiction is wrong?
For the past seventy-five years, we in the west have looked at addiction as either medical issue, or a criminal issue, when in fact addiction is a social issue that can cause medical issues, and has been criminalize. Like many things in the west we try to treat the symptoms, instead of dealing with the cause.
2. What is the importance of “bonding” and the impact that this can have on those who struggle with being present in their life?
Bonding or social bonding is a very important aspect of human development. We naturally form bonds with our parents and loved ones. According to the social bond theory used in sociology and criminology, social bonding “is the belief that socialization and the forming of personal relationships are among the most significant aspects of human development that keep us from committing crimes or other acts of social deviance” (White, n.d.). When Johann speaks of bonding he is expanding this to include how people can also form bonds with substances and even activities. It is important to have healthy social bonds to help people from forming unhealthy bonds with potentially destructive substances. Lacking healthy bonds, it becomes easier to form unhealthy bonds when one’s life is something they feel a need to escape, i.e. not be present.
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What positive societal (and individual) impact does Johann Hari suggest could happen if drugs are decriminalized?
By decriminalizing drugs, or at least drug use, the positive impacts would be phenomenal. It would give the addict “something to get out of bed for in the morning” (Hari, 2015). It would help them to “rediscovered purpose, [and help them to] rediscovered bonds and relationships with the wider society” (Hari, 2015). It would also change the way that people in general view a person who chooses to use a substance. They would no longer be seen as a criminal, but as a

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