Documente Academic
Documente Profesional
Documente Cultură
Student DM Sample
Author Note
was supported in part by Dr. Ramos in the Psychology Department, Dr. Reineke in the English
This paper explores three different articles and their findings, opinions, and thoughts on heroin
addiction. This information is then examined in relation to how heroin addiction could relate and
embody the drive-reduction theory in psychology. Each article has its own thematic angle it is
pursuing and can vary in approach drastically to get that theme across. Jack Rodolicos Anatomy
of Addiction: How Heroin and Opioids Hijack the Brain is a newspaper article that explains
briefly how opioid addiction works and follows the story of young man who has gone through it.
Larceny in My Blood, which is a book by Matthew Parker, is told by him in person and it depicts
his story in relation to heroin addiction. Thirdly, David M. Fahey and Jon S. Millers article by
the name of heroin speaks of the statistics of heroin use and its role in the history of the United
States of America. This paper takes the findings and thoughts of these articles and attempts to
Chandler-Gilbert Community College recently held an event called the Human Library. During
the event authors of many different backgrounds came to the school and spoke. The speeches
they made were a mixture of their life stories and the contents of their book. Each speech was
held in multiple different classrooms across campus on April 12th, 2017. In this essay the book
Larceny in my Blood is explored and examined in relation to the other articles. In this book
Matthew Parker touches upon many aspects of the life of a drug addict, specifically a heroin
addict. Through his book and speech, the audience gained a much more detailed understanding
of what drug addiction is and can become. The events that have occurred in Matthew Parkers
life served as an instrument for learning and understanding to those present during his speech.
This paper will try and relate the events of his life and the psychological theory Maslows
Hierarchy of Needs, which pertains to motivation. Through the case study and theory, the idea
that just like food or water, to an addict drugs can become a psychological need.
Throughout history drugs have had a major impact in many peoples lives whether it be financial,
emotional, physical, psychological or all of these. Matthew Parkers book attempts to tell the
story of how drugs affected one persons life. Matthew Parker, now a published and respected
author, was born in Connecticut as the middle child with one older brother and one younger
brother. His family tree was riddled with cases of alcoholism and drug addiction. At the age of
12 his mother was distributing marijuana and therefore introducing him to the world of drugs. At
age 15 he had already had his first arrest for criminal damage. After his arrest and a few other
arrests in his family, they moved to Pennsylvania. He alone hitchhiked home, got a job, and got
Maslows
Hierarchy
of
Needs
and
How
It
Relates
to
Drug
Addiction
4
an apartment. He had tried and gotten bored of almost every drug in the book after living back in
Connecticut. This was the beginning of what would come to consume everything in Matthews
life.
Matthew, at age 16, shot up or intravenously injecting heroin for the first time. He had Found
his love (Parker). For a decent period of time he only used occasionally, he said that someone
who was not a habitual user of heroin was called a chip (Parker). Years later after first
shooting up, Matthew was married when he received a phone call from his mother asking him if
his older brother had any tattoos. When he responded no and asked why, his mother said they
found a body. His brother had been murdered in Phoenix. This is when his downward spiral
began. Matthew divorced his wife and began shooting a lot more heroin. During the next four
years he had times of sobriety from heroin but during these he was still using all sorts of other
drugs including alcohol. After 4 years had passed he came to find out that his younger brother
had just committed suicide. To Matthew this was the nail in the coffin, he started to shoot
exponentially more heroin than he ever had before. For over a decade he had battled with his
addiction to heroin and the law, at one point getting a 2-and-a-half-year sentence on top of
another sentence. His record had charges from counterfeiting money to possession to many other
crimes. During his second to last stint in jail, he had what he called an epiphany and at that
moment decided to stop using heroin. He got out of jail, enrolled in college, graduated, published
his book and has stayed clean the whole time except for two instances. At the time he was
Maslows Hierarchy of Needs is a theory based on the idea that there are different levels of needs
that we as humans tend to, some being more urgent than others. The theory states that the most
basic of needs must be met first before the individual will focus on or be motivated to tend to the
others. For example, someone who is starving will not be able to focus on finishing their
homework until they can find food. The hierarchy is layered out into 5 distinct categories. The
first category is physiological needs, these are the things the body needs to survive, air, water,
and food. The second category is safety which can be due to war, a natural disaster, or an
imminent threat. The third category is social belonging which is the need to belong somewhere
or with someone. The fourth category is esteem or idea of self. The final category is self-
actualization or living up to you full potential. These 5 categories are according to Maslow, how
Matthew Parker lived a life where he felt that heroin was just as important as food or water. He
speaks of a situation during his speech where he risked his safety by walking into a situation,
knowing he would most likely be arrested, to get heroin. This demonstrates that his mind and
body valued getting high over his own safety. When a person becomes dependent on heroin,
stopping use of it will lead to withdrawals. Withdrawals are a symptom that includes cold
sweats, nausea, diarrhea, muscle aches, cramps, anxiety, depression, and what some addicts
describe as feeling like you are dying. Similar to hunger or thirst the body send a strong
The need to use in an addicts life is not all mental. It is a very understandable physical urge or
need that some have little to no control of. Just like humans will do anything they can to find
food and water in a survival situation, an addict will do everything in their power regardless of
the risks to get their next fix. Even though addiction is a product of making a choice to try and
use a substance, once in that situation it can be seen as almost impossible to stop. Through this
case study, information on how an addicts mind and body works is revealed.
There are many lessons that can be taken from this case study and from Matthew Parker. As
someone who, at some points, valued use over everything else, his actions exemplify Maslows
Hierarchy of Needs theory. It is possible that to an addict, using drugs could be just as important
as food or water. An addicts mind, which has been rewired through years of use, sends messages
to the body that it needs the substance in order to feel normal. With this case study we should
realize that for some addicts, it is not always as simple as choosing to stop using drugs.
Conclusion
This case study is just scratching the surface on addiction and how it alters a persons mind, body
and motivation. There is much more research that needs to be done in order to grasp the situation
fully. Research and testimonials from addicts, their thoughts, and their experiences would be a
start. Another helpful study would be to monitor addicts brains at the start, during, and end of
withdrawals. This could possibly bring to light what is actually happening physically and
psychologically to an addict going through withdrawal. This has been a very interesting subject
to research and discuss and there is many misunderstandings and misinformation is daily life
Maslows
Hierarchy
of
Needs
and
How
It
Relates
to
Drug
Addiction
7
about it. Addicts are still people and are also valuable research subjects if they are willing. With
their help the sad reality of addiction could possibly one day be much more easily curable or at
Ed. David M. Fahey and Jon S. Miller.(2013). Alcohol and Drugs in North America: A
Historical Encyclopedia. Vol. 1.Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO, . p304-316.
Matthew Parker. (2012). Larceny in My Blood: A Memoir of Heroin, Handcuffs, and a Higher
Education. Gotham Publications.
Jack Rodolico. (2016). Anatomy of Addiction: How Heroin and Opioids Hijack the Brain. NPR.
Morning Edition.