The Many Faces And Causes of Drug Addiction

It is a no-brainer if one blames drug addiction to parenting alone.

It is narrow-mindedness if the drug addict is pictured as a teen or young people who are peer pressured to take the illegal drugs to be regarded as “cool” by their friends. Drug addiction does not choose its victims. People in all walks of life are affected; from the rich to the poor; the powerful and weak; the young and the old and other everyday Juans and Juanas who can fall prey to the strong hold of these illegal substances. Thus, drug addiction has many faces and can be traced to several causes.

Faces:

1. A bored and stressed mother who hangs out with friends to whom she confides

her problem. She was offered to try shabu and she never looked back. She graduated to using the stronger substance until she was hooked. She became more addicted due to depression when the husband and the children left her for good.

2. A celebrity who was schooled in an exclusive university with a very loving equally famous celebrity mother. She looked beautiful and very decent. She had a wonderful husband and children too. She was popular and successful in her chosen career. In her private life, she was a trash, a drug addict who got rehabilitated over and over. The husband left her. It was only her mother who did not stop until she was clean.
3. An executive of one of the leading corporations in an expensive suit who is a picture of success. Was he a social user? In the article that was published years ago, he admitted that he was a junkie. He indulged in drugs until he passed out and became disoriented for days. If it is not because of the fact that his family owns a majority shares of the stocks of the corporation, he would have been kicked out from the board.
4. A has –been popular movie star. She is already past 50. Her addiction is blamed on the companies she kept while she was at the height of her popularity. Some claimed that her acting awards were due to the use of the illegal substance. It removed her inhibitions. It made her a superstar.
5. A simple unknown gay beautician in the neighborhood. He said that the drugs made him feel he is “beautiful” and he can attract lovers. The one pop a day-habit developed into three “pingis” every three hours. A pingi costs about a few hundreds.
6. The street children who beg to help their families. They could not afford even the cheaper form of drugs but they are using inhalants—the ordinary rugby. It makes them feel full when they’re hungry. It makes them forget their problems about their families. It also bonds them with fellow rugby inhalers.
7. The colegialas who rebel without a cause and engage in underground prostitution to finance their drug habits. Ask their pimps/security guards in tall buildings in Makati where executives head hunt for sex partners for a quickie.
8. Ordinary housewives in the cities and provinces. They start as couriers due to attractive money benefits. Then they taste the products they promote and they become hooked.
9. and many others pointing to the fact that drug addiction is not a monopoly of the youth.

Causes:

1. Stress: Why are there many celebrities who are drug dependents? There is a lot of insecurity in the world of fame. The celebrities have to deal with a lot of intrigues and fear of losing the popularity. They look for a way out to forget their problems. Besides they are good market for drugs.
2. The Weight Watching : There are drugs (some are not really illegal but are regulated) are claimed to make people lose weight. The ladies who wanted to maintain a figure that attracts a second look are hooked into these drugs. They feel full all the time; they don’t feel hungry and they are energetic despite the lack of food and sleep.
3. Peer Pressure: Adults fall prey to peer pressure to fit into new social classes, new workplaces, and new neighborhoods.
4. Access and Availability. They are available everywhere, even in the internet.
5. Pain Killers: The habit starts as a medication, then it becomes addiction. Others called it in a mild form…drug dependence. Still they need rehabilitation like Elizabeth Taylor.
6. Inhibitions/Insecurities: These people are introverts and lack confidence. They change their images after taking the illegal drugs.
7. Big Bucks when they become dealers. A strategy to snare a victim. Give them regular supply.
8. Idleness for scions of rich people: Why work nine to five when they can enjoy social parties and earn at the same time.
9. Enhance performance especially for Athlete
10. Ignorance

Contributing Writer: Ca T of Now What, Cat?

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