Drugs

There have been news about teenagers and celebrities on drugs lately. Well, drug is nothing new, it has been with human beings for thousands of year. It has never gone away, and it won't as long as human exists. What should be thought about is to study why somebody use it, but some don't, and how to manage it.

In the old old days, even for now, folks on drugs because they give them pleasure. The major difference between nowadays and back then are the knowledge of health effects and legal implication of drugs.

Back in the history, the rich did drugs for leisure, to bond with others, a mere social event. On a personal level, they found drugs pleasurable and help them to relax. For the poor, drugs are simply a way out of their miserable reality. Regardless the rich or the poor, they didn't know the long term medical problem that they would have when they were addicted to drugs. So, part of that was ignorance. Also, they were indulged in the short term pleasure. They just didn't want to think about the future. Besides, there were not that many rules on drugs. The matter was really whether you could get it or not. The rules are more to do with the financial aspect of it. Like should the government tax on it, who could distribute them, etc.

Nowadays, people's addiction to drugs for similar reasons at the personal level like our ancestors. The difference is that there are tremendous amount of medical studies and proof that drugs are harmful to our body. If you wanna die young, and suffered a long period of time of miserable pain, rejected by society and broke, then do drugs. Otherwise, better not even touch them. Also, there are the legal aspects that monitor the production, distribution, and usage of drugs. With the illegal stamps on most of them, it creates an economy around drugs, that make people die for/of drugs without even taking them themselves.

I think that at a personal level, people should not take drugs. Cos, most people are weak, though they deny it, drugs do have an addictive effect. However, I don't think it should be treated as a illegal act. Cos, I think it is better to look at it as a medical and moral problem rather than a legal issue. I would say if you take drugs, your body will go haywire, and will not function properly. So, you need medical attention to help you quit. From a moral point of view, you do drugs and make yourself incapable to perform your own duties on an acceptable manner. You should be shameful to yourself, your family, and as a member of the society. Taking drugs should be made it as a sinful or shameful act like committed adultery or prostitution. They would be more appropriate and effective in terms of prevention. At least, as long as drugs are legal, it will destroy the drug economy and the current resources that are spent on dealing with the problem can be allocated better on medical treatment and prevention. Certainly, certain drugs on certain medical usage should be monitored, regulated and acceptable.

I don't think my view is new, but certainly mine is not in line with the mainstream. Sometimes, I think it doesn't hurt to step back and think out of the box, especially for some problems that seems to have no void solution.