SHOULD WE TELL THE TRUTH ABOUT ILLEGAL DRUGS?

There is much talk about drugs in the world—on the streets, at school, on the Internet and TV. Some of it is true, some not. Much of what you hear about drugs actually comes from those selling them. Yet reformed drug dealers have confessed they would have said anything to get others to buy drugs. 

Illicit drugs of abuse have been part of our cultures since the beginning of history but since the last century their use has skyrocketed.  While plant based illicit drugs have been around for hundreds of years, in the 1940s and 1950s the psychiatric profession was busy experimenting with new drugs which they then publicly release without control.  These and the traditional drugs of abuse were then popularized in the 1960s by music and mass media.  Drugs of abuse invade all aspects of society.

Some 210 million people worldwide consume illegal drugs - more than the combined populations of California, New York, the United Kingdom, Italy and Australia.

According to the United Nations World Drug report, nearly 200,000 people die from using illegal drugs each year.

Every 12 seconds another school-age child experiments with illicit drugs for the first time. Children are exposed to dangerous - and often deadly - drugs at younger and younger ages, often in their schoolyards.

That experience is told by John, a young drug consumer: “My goal in life wasn’t living . . . it was getting high.  Over the years, I turned to cocaine, marijuana and alcohol under a false belief it would allow me to escape my problems. It just made things worse. I kept saying to myself, I’m going to stop permanently after using one last time. It never happened.”

The Foundation for a Drug Free World is actively involved in education programs in schools and in the community. The program is mainly addressed to youth.  For information about drugs, the program, or free drug education materials go to www.drugfreeworld.org. 

And for the person with a drug problem, there are real solutions to addiction.  Narconon, a drug rehabilitation program that utilizes the methods of L. Ron Hubbard, has a success rate of more than 75% (www.narconon.org).  

The best solution, however, is not to begin using drugs in the first place.