June 26 marks the day in which the United Nations sets for the International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking. Drugs is something for which there are many misconceptions about. It’s terribly sad that many individuals do not have an enough knowledge on drugs, especially when it’s so dangerous. It’s something for which the general person would know is dangerous but would not understand in totality how dangerous it is. Among the beliefs people have upon drugs would be as follows:
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You’ll get hooked the first time you try it
This is basically something for which parents or educators try to educate their children into. This is a misconception. You do not get hooked straight away from taking drugs. Is only from taking some drugs that you would get hooked instantly, but majority of the drugs would not let you get hooked instantly. Most of the synthetic drugs falls into the category in which you could get hooked instantly.
However, although some drugs would not instantly make you hooked, there should be an awareness of what drug does. Drug takes the role of what I call a “distractor”. That is, whenever you feel down, disappointed or slightly tired; it becomes a tool for you to forget about something. It’s through this consistent cycle of using this drugs as a distractor that an individual becomes hooked upon it. Individuals taking drugs which might seem mild would also be exposed to higher risk drugs like ecstacy or crystal meth (“ice”). This makes drugs a problem. It might be true that you would not get hooked the first time you take it, but we should all be aware that drugs is dangerous in a sense that it leads to other drugs and it could become habitual, which could after a long run become an addiction.
- Drug Addicts Are Bad People
You tell anyone that you are on drugs and you could see that they would avoid you instantaneously. We are all taught to associate people on drugs to be bad people. Yes, I would agree that those who are on drugs have a tendency to perform unkind acts like fighting, stealing, bullying and other things; but have we ever taught why they started on drugs at the first place.
It’s very sad that we fail to give these individuals a chance. A chance for us to even understand why they used drugs the first place. I have been lucky to know some ex-drug addicts, drug addicts and drug dealers. It’s great to be able to get some perspective on what they think. Try asking them about what got them into drugs. You could talk to them for hours and realise that they actually suffered a lot in their life. It’s because of this suffering that they needed to find an avenue, and they found it through the use of drugs.
I once met this ex-addict and I asked about his life story. He told me how much pain he had to go through last time. He was a successful businessman who lost his entire family. He lost his wife and his three kids through a car accident. What’s worse was that he was actually the one who drove the car in the accident. He blames himself for the lost of his family members. During the conversation with him, I could sense the lost in his eyes as he talks about his guilt. I could emphatise with him on how he felt. It was through this incident that got him starting on drugs. He was deep in guilt and as a result went bankrupt and subsequently got addicted to drugs.
I try to put myself into his shoes and I think that I would have probably have done the same if I was him. I couldn’t really blame him for trying to find solace in drugs. My key point is this: Try thinking about why these individuals would probably have even started on drugs on the first place. Try putting yourself in their shoes. Most of us just form assumptions and unfair on these individuals. These individuals have already their tough situations in life to go through, lets not burden them by our unfair judgement on them. Some are just doing such things because of the product of their enviroment.
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Drug Users are few and rare
Statistic: According to an article I read two years ago, there are 300000 known drug users in Malaysia. For every known drug user, there are four undetected drug users. This means that there are 300000 known users and 1.2 million undetected drug users. This mean that there are basically 1.5 million drug users in Malaysia. Having a population of around 28 million, this represents 5 percent.
This means that in every 20 people in Malaysia, there is a drug user inside that group of people. I’m not sure about you, but to me, this represent a staggering statistic. Would you care to do something for this people ?
Key Pointers
- Give them a chance. Nothing means more to a drug addict than a chance to turn over a new leaf. Most of them wants to change and live a normal life, but the main thing that is always stopping them are the perception other people have upon them. Lets just treat what they have done as mistakes. Mistakes which we would have probably have done if we were in their position.
- Get more understanding on drugs. Learn more about how it harms us if we were to use it. This helps us educate others, to avoid them falling into drugs.
- Live a better life. Drug addicts are not just found in poor families. It is also found in affluent families. I have met people who used drugs and I didn’t really understand why they would take drugs. Their life seems like there is no tough situation to go through and yet they end up using drugs. But, it slowly dawned upon me that the reason why they would end up taking drugs is because they are not living life that they want. They live in a job and a life that do not inspire them and live day-to-day without any purpose and meaning. I believe that this is the similar reason why people would end up being smokers; because they couldn’t find joy in living. Live a better life. Find for the things that inspire you and move towards it.
- Guide others who are ignorant of the facts and dangers of drugs.
- You can make a difference by knowing more. You never know when you’ll meet a friend who is on the verge of trying drugs. You could make a difference in his life if you were to be there to warn him/her on the danger. You are saving a life if he doesn’t take the drug.
I hope and pray for people around the world to open up their hearts to these group of people and give them a chance. We might think that what we do is minimal, but we never how much it could mean to them. Thank you for reading.
