Contest: Drug Addiction || Club5050 || @professorlenz

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Greetings to the ladies and gentlemen in this noble platform. I'm pleased to write on one of the social vices that is destroying our society today. Special thanks to @doctor-c13 for the special opportunity.

Drug Addiction

The word addiction as the English dictionary puts it, is a situation whereby one does something, even when the consequences are negative. They went on to add that if an addiction is developed, stopping might result in trauma.

Drug Addiction therefore, is a condition whereby one is devoted to/ dependent on drugs(especially illegal or improperly procured ones) even when the drugs are harmful to his/her health.

The harmful effects of drug Addiction led to the invention of the phrase " say no to drugs".

Say No To Drugs

The phrase doesn't actually mean total abstinence from drugs, As in, refusal to take drugs when sick. Instead, it means refraining from taking drugs for fun. These drugs might be stimulants, or even something as simple as paracetamol.

The term has been employed my many drug enforcement agents in a bid to rid the world of drug Addiction.

Causes Of Drug Addiction

• Peer Pressure
In the society today, the feeling of wanting to feel among can lead one into taking drugs. Sometimes, you can be offered drugs by your peers. It takes real courage to say no because you might be laughed at, ridiculed, or even bullied. I remember one time when I was in school, my friends used to use a drug called tramadol. Took me a lot of courage to resist taking it because everyone was like, 'Lenz is afraid, everyone has taken the drug, why must he be different?'.

• Curiosity
One thing about humans is, we always want to try out what we see. That trait in us could also lead us to taking drugs. When we see people around us using these drugs, we tend to try to join them with the mindset of 'let me see what these people are enjoying'.

• Family History
The truth is, children copy or inherit alot of their parents' habit. Therefore, it's quite normal for a child whose parent is a drug user to also be a drug user.

• Excitement and Adventure
For drug users, it's very difficult to stop because of the fact that when you're using drugs, you don't really put your mind on the negative effects. All you care about is the so called enjoyment/excitement you get from the drugs.

Now, I'll tell a story about a guy who loved taking drugs and how it ended for him.

There was this guy we used to know, his name was Tony. In my locality, it was quite normal for people to smoke cigarettes. But for this guy, he started with paracetamol. He used to take 4-6 tablets at once because according to him, he enjoyed the smell. From paracetamol, he graduated to taking indian hemp and cocaine. This was the height of it all as he just could not stop at this point. He sold most of his properties just to afford his drugs. Subsequently, he started begging on the streets and even ran mad. About two years ago, he died.

This is just one of the few cases of how people start from abusing simple drugs to becoming full time drug addicts.

Control Of Drug Addiction

• Drug Policies
It is important for drug agencies to regulate the accessibility of drugs to individuals. It is safer for drugs to be restricted to pharmacies and hospitals so whoever is taking drugs, will take it from there. This will go a long way in eliminating the presence of hard drugs in the society.

• Drug Addiction can also be controlled by sensitizing the people on the dangers. Seminars can be held to help people really understand why it's important to abstain from drugs.

• It is also important to enforce laws that will make sure drug offenders are arrested and prosecuted. This will serve as an example to the remaining members of the public.

In conclusion, Drug Addiction is a chronic condition that takes time to get over. It takes the effort of everyone in the society to fight against this social vice. Let us not look down on drug addicts. We have to help them, support them, and encourage them as we all strive to be who we really are, HUMANS.