Alcohol and Other Drugs

Chapter 3 on alcohol and other drugs highlight the damaging effect of foreign and illegal substances. Not just damaging to the body but also to the family and society that surrounds the individual that subjects themselves to them. Being a college student, drinking is all around you. I have been shocked at the extreme amount of alcohol that my peers drink day in and day out. Partying isn't just for the weekends. And I'm also surprised how alcohol isn't viewed as much of an addiction as drugs might be. I think that's because we have easy access to it and don't have to ever be without it for very long. But it is an addictive drug as well.

Of the 126 million Americans age 12 or older, 22.7% (or 55 million people) said they were binge drinkers. Well I'd like to say that 3/4 of those are in most of my classes. So much for our educational system as well.
This link below is for an article which shows that binge drinking damages the white matter of the brain which effects thinking and memory and may even effect school performances. Well fancy that! http://health.usnews.com/health-news/family-health/brain-and-behavior/articles/2009/04/22/binge-drinking-may-damage-teens-brains



The lifetime of prevalence of illegal drug use is 46% in America! That means that almost half the population will use illicit drug sometime during their life. Understanding how pervasive and destructive the drugs are makes me realize how important it is to help young people to resist because once they start addiction is extremely hard to combat.

After reading Beautiful Boy, a story about the author David Sheff's young son battling with his addiction to meth, my view towards drug addiction changed. There is not an easy fix for addiction. There is no law that will make drugs disappear or children from wanting to take them. Nic Sheff was 12 when he first tried drugs. Prescription drug use is becoming hugely popular. A substance that may be easier for children to get at than other drugs. The problem of drug use starts at home. Parents need to be shouldering the responsibility for raising their children and not expecting schools to be watching everything. It is the parents job to make sure they know their childrens' business.

But I chose this chapter because I think that it is a social problem that can be helped by the work of common citizens. I think that it starts in our homes. It can't be fixed through government regulations. They may be able to curb some of the excessiveness of this social problem. But we have some power over this and that's why I wanted to cover it.

Video: Drug abuse pictures before and after.

Links:
This link talks about how family members need to understand that their love for a user can enable them. Tough love is usually what's needed and that can hurt the family and friends more than the user. That's why its good to know how to stop them from using before they even start.
http://www.drug-addiction-support.org/drug-addiction-family.html

This link is just proof that with parent involvement many of the users would have been discouraged to take drugs. There are so many articles that provide programs and steps to help parents learn how to help their kids. This article is proof that it works.
http://oas.samhsa.gov/2k9/159/ParentInvolvement.htm

Quote:

“Anyone who has lived through it, or those who are now living through it, knows that caring about an addict is as complex and fraught and debilitating as addiction itself.”
― David Sheff, Beautiful Boy: A Father's Journey Through His Son's Addiction