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.
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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
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