I hate drugs. My life has not been unaffected by them. I've been a
supervisor of workers in my career for thirty years now. I could write a book
about the things I've seen and how many people have worked for me over the
years and have failed, have had their lives come completely unraveled because of
drugs: the Devil in material form.
My closest friend in the whole world has been devastated because all three
of her sons have been enslaved by drugs. Rehab hasn't broken the hold; prison
didn't deter them for long. Reasoning doesn't help the hard-core addict. Shaming
doesn't help. Tough love doesn't seem to work. Even begging and crying leaves
the addict unaffected ... at least for long.
The devil of drug addiction makes zombies. Addiction kills ambition,
destroys character, steals pride and leaves the addict wasted but looking and
caring only for the next fix.
There is a story that goes with the above picture. Another one of my
friends showed it to me and it made such a visceral impression on me that I
asked her if she would email me a copy for my blog. She agreed.
You see, my friend's son had a baby, a beautiful baby boy, with an addict.
He now has custody of his baby boy because the mom is out of control. Well,
right now she's sitting in jail. Not for drugs. Because of drugs. She got
involved in burglary and was caught with stolen property. Druggies do that to
help supply their habit.
My friend's son went to the mother's apartment (from which she is about to
be evicted) in order to get the baby bed. He was so disgusted by what he saw he
took a picture. The above picture. That is the bedside table between the
mother's bed and the baby's, where she indulged in her addiction right beside
her sleeping baby.
Why would anyone live that way? Why would anyone throw away their family,
friends, even their own lives? Is this not demonic possession? Are illicit drugs
not the great Satan of today's youth?
I hate drugs because I have seen up close what they do to people. I've seen
drug deaths ... up close. I've lost friends, people I went to school
with, neighbors, coworkers. I've watched close friends suffer through their
children's addictions. Is anything more hellish?
It's amazing and frightening, how an inanimate substance can rob people of their souls. I'm glad that baby boy is out of harm's way.
ReplyDeleteYes, the baby is now safe and well cared for. I've seen pictures of the mother before her plunge into Hell and after. It's amazing how devastating the results of drug abuse. My close friend's sons look like zombies, pale, emaciated and with dark circles under their eyes from lack of sleep. My friend is aging prematurely from the stress of dealing with her son's addictions. So heartbreaking!
DeleteSo very sad. I wish there was a cure for this drug problem. I know jail is not the answer. I read an article about another country and their drug problem. They took all the money they were spending on drug enforcement and imprisonment and spent it on trying to rehabilitate the drug abuser and help them find good jobs. They were trying to give them hope for a rewarding life ? Hope this approach works. The system in the US has failed miserably. SYLVIA
ReplyDeleteHi Sylvia. I heartily agree that the US system is a miserable failure. There is way too little emphasis on rehabilitation. Many of the incarcerated are mentally ill and in need of treatment. Minor offenders are often locked up with hardcore criminals and become hardened themselves. So sad.
DeleteAye. The U.S. has failed to launch serious rehabilitation and prevention efforts, with tragic results.
DeleteResearch shows that substance abusers have disproportionate rates of traumatic experiences in their backgrounds. Perhaps we should be looking at trauma and how it entwines with addiction? Maybe if the U.S. offered more widespread services for trauma survivors, it could divert them from the road to addiction?
Ahab, I always suspected that and would agree with your suggestion wholeheartedly.
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