What Needs to be Done to Prevent Opiate Abuse?
For more than a decade, the number of prescriptions for opiate and opioid pain relievers has been climbing. As the number of prescriptions climbed and the number of pills in circulation increased, more people discovered the euphoric effects of abusing these drugs and began to do so.
Then in 2010, pharmaceutical companies like Purdue Pharma began to replace existing pills with tamper-resistant formulas. Pill addicts swung their use around to heroin purchased on the street out of sheer necessity. It was cheaper, more available since they didn’t have to visit a doctor, and it gave them the same high.
The Wall Street Journal calculated the increases and decreases in all the most commonly abused drugs for 2011, taking 2002 as a baseline. Methamphetamine abuse was down 41% (but is still a severe problem in some locations), cocaine down 35%, hallucinogens were down 14%. But marijuana use was up 15% and heroin had climbed a massive 53% between 2002 and 2011.
Some parents who think they know their kids well may assume that addiction will never hit their home. But for some people, it takes a very small exposure to an addictive substance like painkillers or heroin to hook a person. Some people will say that they “fell in love” with the drug the first time they ever experienced its high. So their honor-student-soccer-star child could make one wrong decision and find their life veering off in a direction they never intended.
Assuming that one’s child won’t use any drugs that will lead him (or her) into addiction is very chancy. It is much wiser to take preventative action. And when drugs are involved, the preventative action needed is extensive.
Today’s children are going to get most of their information about drugs from their friends or people who sell drugs. They may discount what they hear in drug education classes if it does not jive with the experiences of their friends. But parents, if they approach the subject correctly, can serve as life-saving authorities. They must provide more and better information on drugs than their children will hear on the street. They must ensure their children understand the risks before drug abuse becomes alluring because of all the “great” things they hear from friends.
This means that several thorough conversations must occur between parents and children. And they must start at an early age.
We can’t leave drug prevention to the doctors who prescribe opiate painkillers. These practitioners can be very good at heart but the drug companies have lied to them and are being investigated and fined for lying about one drug after another.
We can’t just leave it to the schools. Schools may or may not have an adequate budget for drug prevention and the classes may or may not be effective.
We can’t just tell the kids not to use drugs or they will be in trouble. The dangers have to be explained in a specific manner until the children know enough to feel knowledgeable. When that happens, their personal knowledge can then outweigh the stories they hear from their friends.
It will take time and patience. But taking on this project puts a measure of control over their children’s lives back in the hands of parents. This is truly where this control belongs. Not to doctors, teachers or the government. But with parents.
To help parents in these conversations, we have created many easy-to-read, easy-to-use guides for this education. You can find them at http://www.narconon.org/drug-abuse/
Just click on the drug name on the left menu of the page to find the educational information you need.
This is an education in living. And it may be the most important education your children ever receive because it may save their lives.
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2013-08-08/chart-day-united-states-soaring-heroin-use
Chart sources: National Survey on Drug Use and Health and Wall Street Journal