Drug abuse is a growing problem in today's world, while in Brave New World, by Aldous Huxley, the use of soma is encouraged and is distributed by the government as a tool for control. Drug abuse causes social and psychological dilemmas for the user and those in contact with the user. Huxley's world abuses these problems to keep people in order.
A person can become dependent of a drug psychologically and physically (Musto). This can often lead to crime and violence as seen often on TV , newspapers, and Brave New World. Deltas become erratic and forget about their social upbringing when faced with the situation of John tossing soma out the window (219). Their psychological dependence of the drug causes them to act out to obtain the needed effects. This can be seen on large and small scales in modern day from drug wars to theft. This dependence was built apon at an early age in Brave New World as the hypnopaedic messages are flooded to them.
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Aldous Huxley
Huxley and Arnold family tree. It is incomplete.Modern cultures try to put a black cloud on drug use, discouraging and making the use of some illegal. Brave New World controls its citizens with soma. Their government locks itself into a bind then, because if they were to ever have a difficulty producing the drug, the entire society would revolt.
Drug abuse has obvious social downfalls as well. This can be seen through personal relations and through society. Users can neglect peers or loved ones because of addiction (Musto). Linda best displays this fact as John is ignored by his mother through much of the novel. This is not an obstacle for their world as family no longer exists. Modern effects on society of drug use can be found in theft, prostitution, or the selling of drugs (Musto).