Drug addiction is amongst the most serious social issues humanity faces. Unfortunately, it is a stubborn one. No socio-economic strata is immune from its debilitating effects. There are rich people who abuse drugs. There are impoverished people who abuse drugs. It transcends all races and creeds. It's an sad, awful stain on the human fabric.

/image:drug-addiction-support.org/

If there's one thing that's made clear from drug abuse however, is that it isn't a "victimless" crime. Addiction does more than harm the user's body and mind; it also devastates families. Those immediately surrounding the users are swept up in a cross fire of detrimental consequences. The negative implications of drugs in the family are numerous and reaching.

There is always hope, however. Hope is the glue that binds the fracturing family together. It's the hope that the next day will be better. That the drug will no longer have its terrible vice grip on the family and that things can return to normal. Hope is a gift in these trying times. It's important to have a strong supply.

But hope is only fueled through two breeds of knowledge. One is of the inclement harm that will befall the victims. The other is of the benefice that will be theirs when they stop. Without the first, hope has no real grounding-- what, after all, are they hoping to avoid. The other is shown through personable examples. Through people who managed to find the better way in life.

What We Hope to Avoid:

The negativity permeating drug addiction is colossal in scale and scope. It would be less traumatic if it only impacted one aspect of family life. There's already enough bad in friction between spouses or between the children and parents .Unfortunately, the effects are far worse than just that.

Houses that experience drug abuse in the parents or providers have a higher chance of being dragged down to abject poverty. Drugs actually force the body to make certain things a priority that, objectively, shouldn't be. For instance, the need for a fix forces people to spend their money on drugs instead of on food for their family. When it's the children who suffer addiction, there's a greater chance of items of value being stolen and pawned off. All for the sake of a chemical high.

As if the financial instability wasn't bad enough, then they have to deal with a prevalence of violence. Studies show that those houses that use drugs tend to be homes for violence and breeding grounds for physical confrontation.

And then we reach the children. The most vulnerable of all. These are the people who suffer the most. Study after study shows that they become neglected and abused. Even when they don't, their neurological makeup is so that they might as well have been. Then begins the generational cycle of abuse and despair. One example of this can be seen in the documentary on the infamous White family. They have multiple generations of abusers in their family from the eldest to their youngest children. It's a sad reality that they live in.

What We Hope to Achieve:

Suffering doesn't have to be a permanent fixture in these families. Indeed, it is possible to find the strength to overcome their vices and become stronger for it.

Take Darcy, for instance. Darcy was an average kid from an upper middle class area. Her background was nice and affluent. Yet, she felt the need to try drugs. She quickly found herself stealing from her family, including her trusting grandmother, all so she could fund her next high. Eventually though, she found the strength to overcome her addiction. With the help of her family, Darcy has been clean for some time now.

If you want a more public case, look no further than that publicized by the famous Orlando charity, To Write Love on Her Arms. The organization was initially formed to help their friend Renee with her addiction. With the love and support of her friends, family, and a surprising number of anonymous Internet benefactors, she managed to become clean and work towards a better life.

Even in families where addiction is a chronic problem like the Whites, there is still hope. One of their family members Poney White managed to leave home and escape the negativity of his family. Although he was once an addict himself, he's currently clean. These three cases show that it's possible to overcome this tragic issue. There is always hope.

Author: Claire

Sources:

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Wild_and_Wonderful_Whites_of_West_Virginia#section_1
http://www.twloha.com/faq/
http://www.livestrong.com/article/221752-the-negative-effects-of-drug-abuse-on-a-family/
http://www.drug-addiction-support.org/drug-addiction-stories.html