Fresno - A City Addicted to Meth
Fresno - The City Addicted to Crystal Meth
A reaction paper to Louis Theroux 's Documentary
Vincent Belmont
Westchester Community College
This paper was prepared for: General Psychology, instructed by Dr. Anthony Yankowski
The documentary Fresno - A City Addicted to Crystal Meth, by Louis Theroux addresses the epidemic of crystal methamphetamine addiction that is overwhelming the streets of this low socioeconomic city in California. The diversity Theroux finds in each of his encounters is both fascinating and startling: from a mother who wants nothing more than to get her children back, but can 't seem to break the cycle of using to escape her past mistakes, to siblings that are so deep into addiction their sense of boundary deteriorates to form a twisted sexual relationship amongst kin. Instead of researching Fresno and its struggles with addiction from a distance, Theroux physically places himself deep into this alarming culture where every day life is a battle of choice between a chemical escape from the all too common harsh realities of Fresno and a chance for recovery and a new life.
What stood out to me the most in this documentary were the vast differences between the people we were introduced to. Even though all of them shared the common denominator of crystal meth abuse, their original approach to the drug and reasoning behind their addictions told very unique and heart wrenching stories. I believe that we, as a society, put a certain label on what kind of person you have to be if you are a drug abuser, a set of pre-requisites if you will. A drug user is supposedly a bad person, a low-life, a certain race or color, etc. However, this documentary really shows you how the stressors of life combined with an inability to cope can make even the most good-hearted of people fall victim to addiction, especially in a city overrun by such a cheap and easily accessible drug that is so capable of making you feel numb to
A reaction paper to Louis Theroux 's Documentary
Vincent Belmont
Westchester Community College
This paper was prepared for: General Psychology, instructed by Dr. Anthony Yankowski
The documentary Fresno - A City Addicted to Crystal Meth, by Louis Theroux addresses the epidemic of crystal methamphetamine addiction that is overwhelming the streets of this low socioeconomic city in California. The diversity Theroux finds in each of his encounters is both fascinating and startling: from a mother who wants nothing more than to get her children back, but can 't seem to break the cycle of using to escape her past mistakes, to siblings that are so deep into addiction their sense of boundary deteriorates to form a twisted sexual relationship amongst kin. Instead of researching Fresno and its struggles with addiction from a distance, Theroux physically places himself deep into this alarming culture where every day life is a battle of choice between a chemical escape from the all too common harsh realities of Fresno and a chance for recovery and a new life.
What stood out to me the most in this documentary were the vast differences between the people we were introduced to. Even though all of them shared the common denominator of crystal meth abuse, their original approach to the drug and reasoning behind their addictions told very unique and heart wrenching stories. I believe that we, as a society, put a certain label on what kind of person you have to be if you are a drug abuser, a set of pre-requisites if you will. A drug user is supposedly a bad person, a low-life, a certain race or color, etc. However, this documentary really shows you how the stressors of life combined with an inability to cope can make even the most good-hearted of people fall victim to addiction, especially in a city overrun by such a cheap and easily accessible drug that is so capable of making you feel numb to
References: Fals-Stewart, W. (2004). Emotional and behavioral problems of children living with drug-abusing fathers. Journal of Family Psychology, 18(2), 319. Orlando, M., Wendel, S. L., Ebener, P., & Edwards, M. C. (2006). The dimensions of change in therputic community treatment instrument. (1st ed., Vol. 18(1), pp. 118-122). Santa Monica, California: American Psychological Association.