On Wrong Behaviours Related to Drug Abuse, Why Can’t We Just Say ‘No?’

On Wrong Behaviours Related to Drug Abuse, Why Can’t We Just Say ‘No?’
British Columbia Health Minister Adrian Dix in a file photo. The Canadian Press
Susan Martinuk
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Commentary

“Defining deviancy down” is a cultural philosophy that emerged in the United States during the 1990s. It refers to society’s tendency to adjust its standards of deviancy “down,” so that behaviours which were once unacceptable become acceptable. Over time, this newly acceptable behaviour can even become society’s norm.