I’m sure we can
all agree that
drug abuse is
just a symptom
of a bigger
problem.
Sometimes it’s
hard to put your
finger on just
one thing that
leads to it. Did
someone start on
drugs because it
was available to
them, because
they could not
cope with a life
issue, because
they were trying
to escape the
hopelessness of
a circumstance,
or because they
started partying
and escalated
into it? Every
life story is an
individual one,
and we mustn’t
forget that
environment can
play a big
role. Exposure
can also be a
key element.
Every community
has its own
character and
issues that
could be
contributing to
their youths’
drug addictions.
Are contributing
influences those
of poverty,
gangs, single
parent homes,
fatherless
homes, abusive
parents, absent
parents? To
eliminate or
prevent drug
abuse means to
address the root
causes in
communities, in
families and in
individuals, and
those could be
many. We are
also confronted
with the
difficulty that
drugs are big
business, and
their use is
promoted by
dealers who make
their living
from peddling!
So any program
geared to deal
with drug abuse
must be
multi-faceted
and the battle
must be fought
on a number of
fronts. The
best cure, of
course, is
prevention, so,
among other
things, we need
to equip all our
young people
with the
knowledge and
tools to resist
its insidious
grasp. The
Sword of the
Spirit and the
Word of God are
of course the
best tools we
can equip our
young people
with.
But for those
who have fallen
to it’s lie and
are now
struggling for
their lives,
here is a
possible plan to
restore a broken
life.
The Problem
of Addicition:
Professionals
today treat
substance abuse
as a physical
problem, when in
reality the
abuse is a side
effect of an
emotional
wound. When the
physical
addiction is
gone, the
emotional wound
still remains,
and the urge to
abuse substances
returns. It is
a sad case of
misdiagnosis,
and
unfortunately a
staggering
number of
addicts who have
been through
treatment will
relapse. The
SAHDA did a
study in clinics
and treatment
centers and
found that over
55% of new
admitees had
been through a
rehab program in
the past. That
percentage only
reflects the
number of
patients who
reported their
previous
treatments and
only in those
who came back
for more
treatment.
Imagine how many
more of them
that had
treatment, went
back to using
drugs and did
not come back
for more help!
That is
staggering! The
conclusion is,
conventional
treatment does
not work. Not
by a long shot.
It seems to me
that a proper
analogy for
current drug
treatment is to
mop up a floor
while the faucet
is still
running.
