America has a drug problem.
It's as simple as that; and we refuse to acknowledge it. From the drugs on the street to the drugs in the doctor's office, it's no secret that drugs are embedded in our culture.
This article is not meant to justify drug use, but to simply take it for what it is at face value: a disease.
I grew up in Naperville, Illinois. The population is a little over 140,000; and the median household income is approximately $97,000. When my parents moved from the Pilsen area of Chicago to the suburbs of Naperville, they thought they would be able to raise their children away from the temptation of drugs that many urban areas inhabit. However, they were shocked to learn that heroin, and drugs in general, are an ongoing epidemic at my high school. The fact of the matter is that drugs have not and will never discriminate.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, in 2010, there were over 38,000 deaths resulting from a drug overdose. That number is greater than the deaths resulting from car accidents, homicides, and suicides combined.
To understand the underlying causes of drug addiction, one would first have to comprehend what addiction is. Addiction is defined as any compulsive behavior that causes a pleasurable feeling with adverse consequences on the person's daily responsibilities and health.
The causes of addiction vary from person to person. Mayo Clinic, a website specializing in the delivery of modern medical news, lists the causes of addiction under two categories: environmental or genetic. Environmental includes who one surround themselves with and who influences their attitudes and beliefs on drug use. This could be family or friends that encourage drug use. Genetic addiction can be defined as the inclination inherited to expedite the development of one's addiction. Certain mental conditions such as bipolar disorder or depression could certainly influence a person's predisposition to addiction.
With government propaganda such as the War on Drugs, campaigned by former President Ronald Reagan back in 1971, drug addiction is treated as criminal behavior in modern society. What drug users really are is hurt individuals. While most people turn to family, friends, or exercise when they are feeling stressed out or low, drug users make the mistake of turning to drugs to feel better. Once the brain associates pleasurable feelings with the substance, it is becomes hard to distinguish one's real euphoria (such as happiness or love), with the fabricated, pseudo happiness their substance of choice replicates. This is how users become addicts.
What we fail to realize is that addiction is a disease that affects over 20 million Americans. Much like any other illness, addiction inflicts damage not only on the user but on their friends and family as well. It is evident that until we start treating addiction like the disease that it really is, we will continue facing the hardships and pain of witnessing loved ones fall victim to addiction.
