Drug Abuse

Drugs have been a part of this world since the beginning of time. Back then, they were used only as medicine purposes. The earliest known date for drug abuse in my research is back before Christ when the Egyptians used Hemp for spiritual quests. They would make huge burn piles for the High Priests to "see" into the future for the Pharaoh. This form of Hemp wasn't like the marijuana we see on the streets today. It was for rope making, and when they burned it, they got a high.

When the crusades where going on, the English brought this Hemp to their homelands and cultivated it to a smaller smokeable plant and now it is what we call marijuana. During the traveling to America in the 17th century, it was brought on ships as trade with the natives in exchange for gold, silver, and exotic fruits. This wasn't the only drug that they brought upon ships to the quest for America. There was also opium, which comes from certain poppies.

Today drugs are distributed throughout the world on back streets, in houses, and passed from teenager to teenager in schools. Most drug users and dealers are not what we call as white trash. They dress business like and own many materialistic things such as fancy cars, homes, and jewelry. There are many types of drugs that we are aware of, and then other drugs that we don't even realize. The drugs that are well known are; marijuana, opium, cocaine, morphine, methamphetamine, huffing household aerosols, huffing gas and paint products, heroin, magic mushrooms, peyote, alcoholic beverages, LSD, and in pills; codeine, thebaine, hydromorphone, oxycodone, hydrocodone, meperidine, dextropropoxyphene, fentanyl, pentazocine, butorphanol, methadone, and buprenorphine. These are just a few that are commonly abused. We hear of them every day and we keep our eyes open to them trying to keep our children safe from their addicting harm.

The drugs we don't realize are; nutmeg, dextromethorphan, coricidin, salvia, certain types of mint, certain types of mugwort, morning glory, ephedra nevadensis, yopo, datura, henbane, reed canary grass, San Pedro cactus, vetch, burdock, columbine, hollyhock, scotch broom, goutweed, mimosa, laceflower, belladonna, lions tail, snakeroot, skullcap, and iboga. You can get these things in your backyard and even over the Internet. A frightening thought is they are just as potent as the familiar forms when taken like a street drug. They do not show up in your blood stream as meth, heroin, marijuana or alcohol. Police enforcement overlook this. Another thing is, we can not go about and flush these out of the world like we can with street drugs.

Working with a few drug addicted friends, I come to the conclusion that they use drugs to escape reality and every day responsibilities. They have post traumatic stress from childhood events, bipolar disorder, and other mental illnesses. With out their drug related habits, they could not function normally. Seeing therapists isn't enough for them. They are needy, codependent, and/or starving for attention. The only help for these kind of people is prescribed medication. Even that has a tendency to go wrong. The best thing out there would be to put them into an institutional environment besides jail or prison and get the therapy they need to cope with the real world. But since today there are few institutions to house so many drug users, they often end up in jail or prison which becomes overcrowded with these types people. These drug users often stay in denial and would much likely ignore their habits than to seek help. Some end up on the streets and homeless.

The first and foremost thing to do in order for us to stop the drug usage is to start with our children. Talk to our children often so that they can feel open about their problems. Show them love and encouragement when they succeed or even fail. Give them values in life to live by. If you are a drug user there is a 90% chance that your child will follow down that path and use drugs too. So give them value that life can be a wonderful experience with out the use of drugs. Enjoy your child and let them know that they mean something to you. A neglected child has a 65% chance of doing drugs. Make sure that your child is included in every event in your life. Make sure you are selective about your child's friends. Tell your child about drugs, give them a full detail of what each drug can do. The more they know the less likely they will do them. The more you give yourself to your child, the less likely they will hide it from you.

It starts with our children. It is up to you to be aware of the drug abuse in your area. Drugs come in many forms and can be found in your own backyard. If you use drugs, whether it is familiar or otherwise, seek professional help in your area. It isn't too late to change. It isn't too late to be aware.