Annual Walk Against Drugs

This past Saturday we had our annual drug walk.  I have mixed feelings about, but generally think its a good thing.  It sort of makes me sad though, because Keven walked this walk several times in his school years.  Drug Awareness had the opposite affect on him - it triggered a curiosity in drugs rather than a desire to stay away from them.  I know several of you who have said the same thing about your sons.

So the question is:  WHAT CAN WE DO TO STEER KIDS AWAY FROM DRUG ABUSE?

I honestly don't know if there's a way.

How many of you remember watching "Red Asphalt" or similar driver's ed films designed to scare the heck out of young drivers?  The idea was, if we were shown in graphic, real images what can happen if we drink and drive - or drive to fast, etc; we would choose NOT to risk it.

Well, I hate to admit how many times I drank and drove as a youth, and how many times I drove way too fast for the fun of it.  And today we have texting and driving to worry about too.

I don't know if we can scare or educate kids away from drug use.  But what can we do?  Drug test them?  Threaten them?  Beg them?  Just be the best damn parents we can be and hope that they make good choices?

Its sad to me to see all those people marching againstdrugs knowing that some of them will end up addicted, or dead.

Thanks for checking out the advertising links here....and triple thanks if you made a purchase. I appreciate it so much. Peace, Hope and Love, Barbara

What Can One Person Do?

I just read Ross's blog, Life of a Recovering Addict, and suggest that everyone read it today.  Ross was an addict who is now in recovery and seeing things from a new perspective, and with a clear mind and a huge heart.  He wants what we all want - change.

We all want for there to be less heroin/opiate deaths, less addictions, less ruined lives.

I get very riled up and passionate over this issue and it frustrates me to no end that our lawmakers and government don't recognize the severity of the problem.  Why is heroin allowed to be imported by the ton into our country in the first place?  Why is it so easy for kids to get their hands on Oxycontin?  Why does a family have to go into debt for years to afford drug treatment?  Why are addicts thrown in jail without an opportunity for rehabilitation?  Why do other diseases get funding and research but addiction (even though the AMA defines it as a disease) is still treated like a character defect rather than a life threatening epidemic?

Obviously nothing is going to be done about this (unless maybe some high up government officials start losing their children to it) so what can we do?  Ron, An Addict in Our Son's Bedroom,  is the perfect example of what one person can do.  He's talking to schools and writing for the Partnership for a Drug Free America.  Each of us that write a blog is doing something by bringing awareness to whoever reads our blog.  Those that are willing to openly share about what's  happening to their family are making a difference by bringing the problem to light.

Many of us would probably like to do more - but what?  I guess we have to ask ourselves that question and see what ideas come to mind.  Unfortunately the people that are most passionate about stopping addiction are the one's  directly impacted by it and therefore we are struggling on a day to day basis to find some balance and can't take on one more thing.

But never forget that one person can make a difference.  Here's a personal story that illustrates this.  Way back in the early 80's a friend and I learned that tuna fisherman used nets that also trapped and killed thousands of dolphins.  Being major dolphin lovers we were so horrified by this that we could not sit by and do nothing.  We joined every organization for animals rights we could find, but it didn't feel like enough.  So we decided to take it upon ourselves to make people aware and get them to stop buying tuna.  This was long before computers could make fancy fliers, so we did our best to make something presentable, a flier that alerted people of the issue.  We made hundreds of copies and spent our weekends going all over the place to different grocery stores putting our fliers on cars and on the shelves with the tuna!  So did I play a role in changing the laws that prevented fisherman from killing dolphins along with tuna?  I wouldn't go as far to say that, but I believe I did bring awareness to hundreds of people that may have not heard about it otherwise and gave them the option to add their voice.

We keep hearing of deaths and ruined lives....we all live with the nightmare in our own families.  How much longer till something happens to stop the drugs from being so available and to make treatment more affordable?  And, most importantly, persuade young people never to try it in the first place.


Peace, Hope and Love, Barbara

The Problem With Anti-Drug Ads

WARNING:  Trigger alert for people sensitive to graphic photos related to drugs.

Bill Ford over at Dad on Fire (one of my favorite blogs for the latest information on this topic) has posted about a new anti-drug campaign aimed at youth.  I watched each of the video clips really wanting to see something that would impact our current generation of kids.

The video clips were creative, thoughtful...and I mean no disrespect to whoever put them together, but they are weak.  They will appeal to a certain type of kid.  A kid who sees himself in these videos, who may have already decided drugs are stupid and following the crowd is lame.

I know I am going out on a limb by making this generalization, but its based on my observation of Keven, Anthony, Kels, Jon, Gilbert, Matt, Ross, Andrew, Lauren, Lauren 2, Anthony 2, Mikey, Christian, Brian, Jesse, Justin, Brian, Chad, and Ryan 1 and 2.

These are all of Keven's friends.  The ones that are not addicts have very different personalities from each others, but they all have passions they have been following for years and are well adjusted emotionally with a relatively, healthy self esteem.

The others are either bad ass guys who think they are tough and indestructible, emotionally hurt, suffering from a past trauma (abuse most likely) or lonely.  They see drugs as not only a means to an end, but a lifestyle that appeals to them.  They would never relate to the kids on the videos I just watched.

Drugs and the drug culture provide a place to belong where you fit in no matter what, druggies watch out for each other - unless of course they are desperate for drugs then they will steal from their best friend.  But usually the people who choose to try heroin (specifically) are looking to take a risk, try something exciting and in the process discover that it delivers the most incredible feeling in the world, a feeling that becomes the new focus of life.  Within the first few uses they are hooked and then begins the uphill battle that typically lasts for years and destroys everyone and everything in its path.  The lucky ones get out alive.

So all this to say - even looking back on a young Keven from years ago, he would have laughed at these videos and said they were stupid.  Some of the kids I listed above would agree with him but inwardly would take the message seriously, and others would go out of their way to use drugs just because of their rebellious nature.

Its really sad but I think showing real junkies, crackheads and tweakers would make more of an impact.  Showing girls that were once real cute and popular in school looking haggard at 17 and trading sexual favors for a hit of heroin, showing the "tough guys" begging and crying for more drugs, showing the ugliness, the filth, the crime, the violence, the jail beatings, the FUTURE of what happens to addicts....that MAY get through to a few more kids.  They need graphic images like this:

Unfortunately, this new ad campaign seems like maybe a step or two above "just say no".  Maybe.



Peace, Hope and Love, Barbara

War On Drugs

The following was written by a friend of mine who lives in a different country. The problems we have here in the USA are similar around the world. Its obvious that the drug problems are getting worse, not better. 

There is no easy solution but something has to change. I did a post here before about how educating young children about the dangers of drug abuse has not helped, and for some (my son included) was the beginning of an intense curiosity about drugs.

The main point I agree with that my friend makes below is "we need to spend the money we are spending on the war against drugs on treatment facilities and programs for those people that need it."  

I don't agree with every single point he made here, (I'm not ready to legalize all drugs but definitely to legalize marijuana).  I am still processing some of this, (sometimes I have to think about something for days in order to look at if from all possible angles).  A lot of this  goes right along with the changes that are being proposed here in the US by Senator Jim Webb and I support the changes he's trying to make.  

I know that my son is doing well today mostly because he was one of the few that was chosen for a special program that actually helped him rather than putting him in an endless cycle of incarceration.  Sending someone from from jail to the streets, and back to jail, with a few trips to the ER in between doesn't seem to serve many well.  Its an endless cycle that leaves a person feeling worthless and hopeless.  Anthony is the perfect example of this method of "treatment" which obviously doesn't help many addicts.  If a trip to jail, or two or three, made a difference there would be a decrease in drug abuse, not an increase.

Here are the thoughts of my friend.  I'd like to hear what you think about this:

War, what is it good for?

The War on drugs has failed. I believe this statement to be true and so does a group called L.E.A.P. (law enforcement against prohibition). A group of police and criminal justice workers, judges and the like, retired and still working that also believe this. The war on drugs has created a black market that is in dire need of regulation. Drug users and petty criminals who have tried and failed to fund their habits are being put in jail. There is not enough money in the sector to help those who need treatment.

Through the ages people find ways to get high, and whether drugs are legal or not people are going to use them. Some people believe that if there weren't any drugs that no one would use them, while other people believe that if there were more drugs then more people would use them. People are using, that's just it. Drugs are now readily available to anyone who wants them.

We need to spend the money we are spending on the war against drugs on treatment facilities and programs for those people that need it. Channeling the money into the health sector where many of the users end up anyway would support a system that is currently buckling under the strain. At the moment this sector is under funded, and cannot offer its clients the services they require. If the services were better more people would sustain prolonged periods of recovery.

We as a society need to get this issue, these problems, out in the open. The Government using mass education through the media needs to get the message out. Education is the key. The more we talk, the more we know. One drink won't kill Grandpa, one hundred will, it may sound simple and it’s something we understand. Drugs are the same. People need to talk about this. Everyone enters the social forum. We see that yes, there are underlying reasons why most people consume excessive drugs, but I believe people will be more inclined to seek the treatment if there is less shame attached. People shouldn’t be made to feel guilty for wanting to feel better about them selves. people can make their own informed decisions and this is I believe an important element in ones personal road to recovery from addiction.

If a person uses drugs I would like to think that they can get what they want / need at affordable prices just like other medications and that there is treatment available if they need it and that these issues are out in the open so that people (mainstream society / users alike) are aware of the benefits and dangers. That's the kind of community I want to live in.

I don't want to live in a world where people pay exorbitant prices for the drugs they use, or where a user has to buy drugs illegally in the street and then use alone. Where a drug user gets treated like a criminal, arrested and locked up. Where there are no available treatment options for the drug user or the waiting lists are too long. Finally, I don't want to live in a world where no one is talking about these social / health issues and the drug user can feel cut off, stigmatized or isolated.

One blog that I highly recommend if you are interested in seeing a change drug policies is:

Dad On Fire

Here is a letter he wrote, “A big part of my concern is a costly prison system, where SUD/MH(Substance use disorder/ mental health) gets little or no address, which with screening could be a good place to start treatment for jail bound addicts. Here’s what I see...

You can read the rest here:

Treatment for Jail Bound Addicts