Substance Abuse & Drug Rehab

Since reaching my 100th hub I have felt a pressure to keep producing hubs for my readers and also because I like to progress, I realize the only way forward is to keep working hard although I respect that other writers prefer to stay with a lower number of hubs because I too have taken 7 long months to reach this far.

I figured the best way to do this was to start off for 200 by the same way I began my Hubpages career, talking about things which have touched my life. Once such thing was drug use, At one point in my life I decided to try Marijuana because a lot of my friends were trying it and I don't want this hub to sound preachy because I know there are a lot worse things but unlike some of my friends I began buying it regularly and it did have some negative effects.

Photo courtesy of http://www.flickr.com/photos/23905174@N00/432935561/

After doing a little bit more research online, I noticed there are some drugs available in the U.S which cause a lot more damage and are less widespread within the UK. Above I have included a photograph of the effects of Mephedrone which is a stimulant and like other drugs in this category such as Ecstasy and Cocaine, it can act as an appetite suppressant making the user drastically lose weight.

I think certain drugs such as Meph seem more appealing to youngsters because they can be swallowed, snorted or smoked and are often glamorized in movies, unlike heroin which appears dirty and is associated with diseases and unclean syringes. There are different forms of Cathinone derivatives in the UK such as Methadrone and Methylone and users can experience other negative effects such as sore nasal passages, cuts & burns from snorting the chemicals and often nose bleeds.

Photo courtesy of jdm1979uk

Although Marijuana doesn't have such serious physical effects I do believe with everyday use it can have a bad influence because my housemate has also said when he used to it many years ago that he wasted 3 years of his life smoking it. I spent a similar amount of time using it for recreation whilst at art college and I found I was depending on it to relax me and apart from my artwork I wasn't concentrating on other things I could of done to benefit my resume. I guess it depends upon the person but I found I didn't have time for it in my life anymore, maybe some people like me have more addictive personalities? My teacher said I didn't deal with stress very well maybe this was my reason for overdoing it.

Apart from these effects it had on me, nobody can deny that if you are smoking it with Tobacco and the heat from the smoke itself is going to have some effect on your health. I don't have a strong issue with Marijuana but I tend to see 2 extreme points of view on the subject in the media, one group is hyping it up as a wonder drug and the establishment saying it is a bad influence and I just wanted to try and cover both aspects.

Photo courtesy of http://www.flickr.com/photos/azrainman/991225859/

I think drug counseling should be given to youngsters at school but not in a forceful manner because they are young adults and deserve to be treated as intelligent human beings not people without a right to learn from there own experience. They should be given the facts and not propaganda such as 'Marijuana will make you a terrorist' or stern signposts such as the one below.

 I have tried to include photographs of artistic work designed to encourage young people and persons in general to avoid hard drugs, this includes the ribbons tied to a fence in a school to spell out the words 'No Drugs', this sort of activity allows pupils to engage with the campaign in a fun, friendly environment.

Photo courtesy of http://www.flickr.com/photos/randysonofrobert/299185987/

Art and music can be used as a powerful tool when trying to persuade users to kick the habit and attend a rehab program. If you consider that many ecstasy and cocaine users enjoy nightclubs and rap music fans love graffiti art, it is important that these creative outlets are harnessed as a method for informing young and other persons about the options for attending a drug detox. Below I have included an abstract form of art similar to street art which I think illustrate what you may appear like if you continue to take hard drugs and even alcohol, it was photographed within a Japanese shop window.

Photo courtesy of http://www.flickr.com/photos/compujeramey/2503236075/

Although it may be hard to compete with the artwork and music which drug users are used to because some of the greatest musician ever to have lived have used drugs at some point! Most of my favorite musicians in fact, so we can't say that all drugs have a totally negative effect, its all about talking to the young truthfully and maybe educating them from your own experiences. Bill Hicks gives a good counter argument in favorite of some lightweight drugs of which I have embedded a video below.

Photo courtesy of http://www.flickr.com/photos/what_i_see/3345415298/

When employing an artist to perform possibly at school or rehab center you will want to find one which is popular amongst a wide range of pupils or persons, maybe get them to include the message of cutting down on hard drugs subtly because nobody likes being preached to. When choosing the artists you can still pick a talented and popular urban one maybe asking them if they use drugs before making your final choice.

Remember you may not see results straight away but if you are talking to the youngsters and users on their level you are more likely to gain that sense of trust and they can relate when they know you may have experimented with light drugs such as marijuana when you were on the music scene.

Photo courtesy of http://www.flickr.com/photos/kessiye/3634440535/

Finally I would like to pay some respect to the people who work hard to run hostels & drug rehabilitation centers because they often come into contact with people in a pretty bad state, I believe if a person is seeking help they should follow the rules set out and be grateful for the chance to better themselves. Without out organizations such as the red cross or poorly funded government hostels who would the homeless have to turn to? I know if I was in a bad way I would be thankful and appreciate that the workers should not have to come into contact with drug paraphernalia when they themselves are probably not drug users.

Photo courtesy of http://www.flickr.com/photos/lorentzen/2218654956/