Keep Away From Them While You Can (Content Focus on Unity)

What is an illegal drug?

According to the Simple English Wikipedia, “Illegal drugs are drugs which have limitations on their ownership or use by the government and are illegal in certain situations (meaning a person is not allowed to have them). A drug is any chemical that affects the human body o mind when it is swallowed, breathed in, or consumed in another day”.

Commonly used by illegal drugs include marijuana, heroin, cocaine, amphetamines and methamphetamine and club drugs. Marijuana is swallowed or smoked. Its acute effects are Euphoria, relaxation, slowed reaction time, distorted sensory perception, impaired balance and coordination, increased heart rate and appetite, impaired learning/ memory, anxiety, panic attacks, and psychosis. While its health risks are cough, frequent respiratory infections, possible mental health decline and addiction.

How about heroin? It is injected, smoked and snorted. Its acute effects are euphoria, drowsiness, impaired condition, dizziness, confusion, nausea, sedation, and feeling of heaviness in the body, slowed or arrested breathing. Its known risks are constipation, endocarditis, hepatitis, HIV, addiction and fatal overdose.

In the same manner, cocaine, amphetamine, and methamphetamine are snorted, smoked and injected. Whereas, their acute effects are increased heart rate, blood pressure, body temperature, metabolism, feelings of exhilaration, increased energy, mental alertness, tremors, reduced appetite, irritability, anxiety, panic paranoia, violent behavior and psychosis. Their health risks are weight loss, insomnia, cardiac or cardiovascular complications, stroke, seizure, and addiction.

But why do people take drugs? They take drugs because they want to change something about their lives. Here are some reasons why young people have given up for taking drugs: to fit in, to escape or relax, to relieve boredom, to seem grown up, to rebel and to experiment. They think drugs are a solution. But eventually, the drugs became the problem. Difficult as it may be to face one’s problems, the consequences of drug use are always worse than the problem one is trying to solve with them. The real answer is to get the facts and not to take drugs in the first place.

What do users tell? Based on experience, according to this person (I will not mention his name), during the whole time, he was on drugs. He taught he had control over his life and that he had it great. But he destroyed everything he had built up and fought up for in his life. He cut to all his drug-free friends and his family, so he had not any friends but his drug mates. Every day revolved around one thing: his plan for getting the money he needed for drugs. He would do anything possible to get his amphetamine- it was the only thing in his life.

Additionally, according to the other user, “I felt that I was more fun when I was drunk. Soon after [I started drinking] I was introduced to marijuana. Later, I was hanging out at a friend’s house smoking marijuana when someone pulled out a bag of cocaine. Snorting cocaine quickly became a daily habit. I was stealing from my parents’ business and from my grandparents on a daily basis to support my alcohol, cocaine, marijuana and LSD habits. Then introduced to Oxycontin and began using it on a regular basis. By the time I realized I was addicted, snorting oxycontin was part of my daily routine. I needed something stronger – and was introduced to heroin. I would stop at nothing to get high. My addiction was winning. And every time I tried to kick it, the physical craving would send me back for more”.

So the question is can addiction be treated successfully? According to National Institute on Drug Abuse, “Yes”. Addiction is a treatable disease. Research in the science of addiction and the treatment of substance use disorders has led to the development of evidence-based interventions that help people stop abusing drugs and resume productive lives.

Another question is, can addiction be cured? Some sources said, “Not always but not like other chronic diseases, addiction can be managed successfully”. Treatment enables people to counteract addictions to powerful disruptive effects on their brain and behavior and regain control of their lives.

Now, what is the best way not to be addicted to an illegal drug? Well, the best way to prevent an addiction to an illegal drug is not to take the drugs at all. Why put ourselves at risk if, at the end, we just destroy our body, mid and life? Why not spend our money to buy foods for our family so that they will be happy instead of buying illegal drugs? Keep away from them while you still have the chance.