The pressing need for factual information about drugs

There is a plethora of misguided information regarding drugs available on the streets, the internet and the television, from teenage curiosity about exploration into the world of drugs and alcohol to the sleazy inducement of glitz and glamour associated with the music and fashion industries in order to “transform” the psyche, induce altered states of consciousness, relax and soothe the ache of mental turmoil associated with constant human struggles and to further bring about modification of the physical structure of the human body.

However, with such added glare and growth of spoken advertisements posited by drug peddlers and lay users, we need to be more aware than ever regarding the hard truth about drugs and alcohol so as to beware of the nefarious short term and long term consequences of such usage which can drastically impact the way we feel and perceive the world, and consequently, negatively impact our relationships, health, career coupled with all other crucial facets associated with the fragility and sensitivity of precious human life.

With the onset of the technological age and everything becoming available at the press of a button and life becoming fast paced and more stress prone, the use of drugs and alcohol has become more predominant and prevalent than ever before. According to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, the number of drug users has dramatically surged to more than 296 million users in 2022, a drastic increase of 20 per cent over 10 years. And while an estimated 64 million people suffer from drug use disorders worldwide, only 1 in 11 is in treatment, thereby highlighting the lack of proper awareness and resources available for adequate treatment of such a complex disease, with women receiving even less access to such treatment (1 in 18 women receive treatment for drug use disorders). 

Causes and consequences of drug/alcohol use

Whether it is stress, mental anxiety or physical inadequacy that people are trying to address, the basic fact remains that most people take drugs because they want to change certain aspect(s) of their lives without facing themselves along with being incapable and unable to face invariable problems (as individuals with peculiar personality traits of our own) that are much difficult to predict and become aware of without the aid of substances.

In line with the trends of their age, most young people take drugs to try and fit in the social structure (most addicts are characterized by the phenomenon/feeling of “I am different”), to escape and relax, relieve boredom, to appear more mature than their age and to rebel and experiment as is the need and unconscious desire to be in sync with their peers and the surrounding environment. However, this insidious coping mechanism which arouses the need to escape or fit in through the usage of drugs and alcohol, in fact ends up proliferating and perpetuating the problem further, eventually resulting in dire consequences of being circumscribed in jails, institutions and experiencing untimely, painful death.    

Working mechanism of drug/alcohol addiction

The use of drugs and alcohol considerably alters the working of the brain cells and neurons which makes it harder for people to quit even though they might want it to be otherwise. They blur memory and cause blank spots which make information processing difficult thus resulting in a clouded, muddled mind that makes a person feel slow and stupid (which in turn causes a virulent and vicious cycle of failures in life) that further amplify feelings of low self-worth and low self-esteem. Quitting, therefore, requires much more than sheer will power and good intentions, and contrary to what people feel, drug users might not lack moral principles but might simply find it difficult to control drug seeking and compulsive behavior despite its harmful consequences. 

Also, drug and alcohol use kills creativity in spite of other notions. For example, some people take drugs to escape from feelings of sadness and to become happy. Instead, the drugs induce people into a fake kind of happiness which quickly fades away before the person crashes even lower than before. With each usage, the emotional plunge into oblivion and darkness becomes deeper and lower which eventually causes complete creative destruction of the personality. 
That is why drug addiction is considered to be a “relapsing disease” since repeated drug use changes the brain structure and thereby leads to lack of self-control and inability to resist intense drug urges that occur more frequently and intensely with each usage. More importantly, repeated drug and alcohol use results in creation of tolerance whereby the ability of the brain cells to respond to the “reward circuit” which causes euphoria is damaged and the addict ends up chasing (after the first usage of the drug) but the kick/high constantly evades him thus propelling the person to become less and less able to derive pleasure from the things they once enjoyed such as food, sex, relationships, career and other social activities.