Drug Culture
A term often associated with the rebellion, lifestyles and attitudes formed around marijuana and
psychedelic drugs in the 1960s. In fact, there have been many drug cultures in postwar America,
including those deeply divided by class (cocaine for the rich and powerful, crack or heroin in the ghetto)
and in severity of punishment. Moreover, the widespread use of alcohol, tobacco and pharmaceuticals
suggests that the term “drug culture” might effectively characterize much of the nation, as well as those
people and practices identified as antithetical to American health and morality As an official cultural
construct, the ongoing War on Drugs since the 1980s represents a concerted effort to delegitimize any
use of illegal drugs. Yet drugs still pour into poor areas in the cities and other sites without strong
government commitment to halt the importation of drugs from abroad.