Addiction and Society: Fostering Empathy and Effective Solutions

Understanding Drug Use and Addiction

We are all drug users. From the caffeine in your morning coffee that keeps you awake, to the ridiculous amounts of sugar in almost everything we consume that keeps you coming back for more. Some people need multiple doses of prescribed Xanax to get through the day, and some need to inject heroin. The drugs may be different, but the *hole they are trying to fill is often the same*.

We all have the potential to fall victim to drug addiction – legal or illegal. That is why it is vital for us to have a good understanding of what addiction means and how to help those afflicted, instead of incriminating them. Drug addiction will undoubtedly touch your life at some point. You will probably know someone who is, or who knows, an alcoholic or a prescription drug addict. You might even know someone who is addicted to substances that are not currently legal.

How we treat these people is up to us, and currently, the systems in place to assist people reintegrate back into ordinary life are far from perfect. So, it's our responsibility to do everything we can to be understanding and caring towards victims of drug abuse, and to do our best to oppose the broken systems.

The Flaws in Our Current Approach

How this country deals with drug users and abusers is appalling. A fully grown adult can be thrown in jail right next to a violent sex offender for choosing to put a drug in his or her own body. Violent drug users do need to be controlled, but there are vast amounts of non-violent, good people thrown in jail or even prison for wanting to enlighten themselves and expand their consciousness.

Restricting someone from choosing what drugs they want in their own body is a restriction of personal development. We cannot move forward as a progressive nation when we have laws in place that restrict the development of character and punish those who seek enlightenment. That being said, meth, heroin, cocaine, and the long list of highly addictive legal prescription drugs are still very big problems that need to be addressed, lest they turn into something worse than they already are.

A Path Forward: Compassion and Community

We need to have more community-based programs in place for victims of addiction, instead of widespread criminalization. We need to show compassion for people going through hard times, not judgment. Public health should be a higher priority than the preservation of wealth for the top 10%.