Drug Epidemic

All across America people are talking of the opioid crisis. They refer to it as an epidemic. Not just teenagers are dying, but adults in their 20’s and 30’s are dying as well. And their parents, too. People in their 40’s and 50’s are succumbing to drug overdoses. If it weren’t so real, it would seem like a badly written plot of a horror movie.

But it is real, the epidemic.

I refer to it as a drug epidemic because that’s what it is. Opioids are featured this month, but next month which categories of drugs will capture headlines? Will it be marijuana? Or prescription pain killers? Or maybe cocaine in its many forms? Or meth.

To me it doesn’t matter what drugs are involved. It matters that any drug or addictive substance is used.

I do volunteer work with teen drug users and addicts. Every Wednesday evening we counsel youth from 13 to 18 on how to stay sober from drugs (and alcohol, too) once they graduate from the rehab program. Most of our newbies don’t admit to a drug problem. Most deny the very problem that landed them in rehab in the first place. “It’s all a mistake; my folks, the school authorities, and yes, even the judge. I’m not a drug addict. It’s just weed.”

Weed. Used daily or weekly without a care in the world is illegal for underage kids. There’s a reason for that. They do not control much in their life at that age; they don’t know how to control the things they do have choice over. Weed can lead to addiction and often does. But it also introduces the user to a culture of other drug use and that’s when things get serious. Also remember that alcohol consumed with any drug elevates the effects. Problems can quickly follow. Think driving under the combined influences.

I’m never sure what is the addiction. Is it the behavior? Is it the effects that are so deeply desired to visit and revisit? Is it the nihilistic statement drug use portends? Or is the addiction to the drug itself, its chemical make-up?

Dealing with young people with these issues is not easy. They often deny a problem. While making this claim they are courteous and charming. We get to know them and like them. But later an opening appears and the deeper conversation takes place. We make a difference in their lives; we know this. But we lose many in the process. Success is not certain. Far from it.

We lose kids to returned drug use; they call it a slip or a lapse; but it is really a resumption of an addiction they still deny. Some wind up in the ER with an overdose. Some even die there. Others disappear from view and we never hear about them. We continue to think of them and wonder whatever happened to them and their lives? Did they survive?

Drugs have a use in our society. They are a big help in managing medical conditions and behavioral problems. To be of help they must be managed by trained medical personnel. They are not to be used by self-prescription. That is an entry to trouble.

We still struggle to understand the problems for each patient. What led them to drug use in the first place? Is this a family issue or a personal failure? Is this a medical problem or a behavioral problem? Is it rebellion or a wish for self-destruction? How do we bring them back from the precipice of extinction?

Can we get them to laugh? Can we help them discover a future that embraces hope and wonderful experiences not drug related? Can they say goodbye to drugs so they won’t miss them in their lives? Will they be tempted in the future to return to drugs, and if so why? What will be the trigger?

Do we help these kids with tough love or unconditional acceptance?

We don’t know. We try many approaches. Each one might work. Many don’t.

You see my problem with talking about an opioid epidemic? It isn’t an opioid problem. It is a societal problem with drugs. We consume too many of them and we wink and smile as others try them. The consequences are too real for me to smile or wink.

The drug genie is out of its container. How do we catch him and put him back in a sealed container? And save all the others who have met the genie and have little or no power over him?

November 1, 2017