Hi everyone, new guest blogger Laurie here. I don't think anyone has introduced me yet (where's the love, people?), but I thought I'd intro myself so I could weigh in on this topic. Obligatory blurb about me: Like many of the kiddos here on BSG, I grew up in L.C. Florida, but left after high school for college, subsequently earning a BA in English Lit and a BFA in Studio Art from Florida State University. I relocated to Brooklyn two years ago, and have loved every second of it. I currently work in business development at a mid-sized tv network that I promise you've never heard of, but I'll be starting as a student at Brooklyn Law School in the fall. You can check out my personal blog, Sleeping in Brooklyn, here. So on to the topic at hand!
Just last week I read a story in Elle (yeah, I know sorry but that's where I read it) that basically argued that most people who try or even regularly use narcotics and/or other drugs won't become addicts.* This of course, flies in the face of decades of "Just Say No Dare Common Sense" public education, but it's also much closer to the truth of drug and alcohol use than any of the terror filled edicts we're normally bombarded with by various drug "authorities." Having been around the block with a pretty wide range of drugs from alcohol to opiates I can attest than no, the average person won't become a raving drug fiend the moment they take a bump of blow at a party.
Traffic offers a great example. The pretty upper middle class WASP girl chases the dragon once and is whoring herself to her big black (so much to say about the race depictions here, but that's a topic for another day) dangerous drug dealer in the ghetto 45 mins later. I'd have to argue that this is an extremely unrealistic picture of addiction. I'd also have to argue that there is an inherent danger in miseducating the public with regard to addiction.**
The real trouble with drugs is when the tiny percentage of people who have "addictive personalities" get their hands on them. The New York Times had an interesting article recently about what personality traits are commonly found in addicts and it's worth checking out before they make it TimesSelect. One thing that I find strange is how difficult it is to find statistical evidence on the internet that indicates what percentage of the American population is actually addicted to drugs. An extensive internet search this morning turned up all kinds of "drug abuse up X%" kinds of things, but they always fail to establish what the benchmark was before the rise. If heroin abuse is up 50% but it still represents only .67% of the population then that's worth noting. The aforementioned Times article simply says "many millions." I can't remember where I saw it, but somewhere I came across a figure that stated that 20 million people in the U.S. Even if the number was actually 20 mil then that's only 6% of the population. However, I have the impression from other websites that even this is a gross exaggeration (that number probably includes cigs and alcohol, too). I found an interesting little blurb about this here where the author states that "obviously, the government can't say how many genuine addicts there are, and the 3.6 million number seems like a tremendous overestimate based on counting anything approaching regular use of heroin, crack, cocaine and other drugs, both actually measured and estimated."
So what's my big point, right? Well, my point is that we need honest facts about addiction in order to have an honest public debate about it's dangers. Slate has several articles about this topic that are worth a read, especially this one about "the best anti-pot ad ever." Do a keyword search for "drugs" to turn up more like these.
A couple of concerns here that I won't get entirely into (this is a blog after all and I've already written WAY too much here), but that I'd like to throw out there to get you thinking a bit:
- "Dangerous" things entice people, especially teens, and when you convince people drugs are super dangerous it only entices them more.
- People who choose to use drugs cannot protect themselves if they don't understand what the actual dangers of using those drugs are. This is related to...
- When people know you are lying to them about some things, they will assume you are lying to them about everything else. With drugs, this could lead some people to assume all the bad things they hear about drugs are false or exaggerated.
*They cited studies and I would throw in quotes here were it not for the fact that I left my copy of the magazine at a friend's place and he's in California all week and there doesn't seem to be a copy of the article anywhere online. Sorry but that's life.
**Actually I'm of the opinion that there's an inherent danger in miseducating the public on any topic. Educate your citizens well, give them the facts, and let them make their own decisions, I say. Don't get me wrong, I haven't become a Libertarian. I firm in the belief that the people should be governed, but I also think that the people should decide how they are governed, not the elite ruling class (hello almost exclusively rich, white, male Congress).
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
6 comments:
I think it's really weird that I like Traffic so much, a pretty didactic and socially offensive movie, while I hate Crash. Go figure!
I definitely agree that honest facts need to be presented when educating the public (especially the youth) about anything that has the potential to be dangerous.
I suppose I received lots of DARE "education" but I don't remember anything other than "Just Say No!" - What I do remember is that one of those abstinence-only "motivational" speakers we had in high school essentially told us that if we have sex, even with a condom, we are still going to get AIDS and pregnant. At which point some guy a few rows back muttered, "Then why have I been wearing the damn things?" One can only assume disastrous consequences!
Meanwhile, when I was in college, one of my friends - who was really, really super-smart, although ultra-Catholic - believed that the regular birth control pill allowed you to get pregnant, then caused you to abort. Because her church told her so.
Nice one Laurie. Well done. Makes me wanna go shoot up in the bathroom. Just to prove i'm not addicted.
Seriously though, I agree with everything you say. I even wrote a paper about it a time ago, and mentioned most of the same points. Now I gota go teach a class of third graders.
Peace.
Did you know Crime Dog McGruff has his own blog? I saw him hanging out on the street this morning on the way to work and got so excited I had to come look him up online. I love it because, from what I saw, most of it is about how to stop bullying, tips for keeping your house from being robbed, what to do when you're in a scary situation, or teaching KIDS to avoid drugs and alcohol.
In my memory, McGruff has always been completely trustworhty and full of good advice. But when I think of the DARE officer who spoke to my 5th grade class, I cringe. I didn't trust that guy at all-- and he was dressed as a cop! Why, even as a child, did I trust a cartoon talking dog in a trenchcoat more than Mr. Police Officer? I think it's because the cop was there to scare me while McGruff basically said 'the world's a scary place, but you can help make it better and keep yourself safe by following these tips.'
Freakin' McGruff, man. He totally made my day.
hi laurie and other superbloggers it was great reading these blogs.
from the article you linked---"Dr. O'Brien said there are very important similarities in the personality characteristics of the addictions studied, including tendencies to depression, dependent behavior and difficulty in formulating long-term personal goals because of a concentration on short-term goals. "
sooo...this is me.
i think that a lot of people have these characteristics, or maybe just a lot of people i know, and i know that with me i have to focus on things that aren't so harmful to me and my friends and family and such. like right now i'm addicted to gardening and graphic design and these addictions allow me to create things like mad....pull six hour binges, etc., maybe this ties in to the connection drawn a lot between artists and drugs? maybe everyones an addict and it's the artists that addict themselves to something that ends in a created object or idea, rather than tv watching or such.
and so i owe my first negative addictions (i sucked my thumb until the day that i took up smoking) to the fact that i'm not addicted to hardish coreish drugs. =i am catious and i'm aware when doing vicadin, cocaine, marajuana, heroine, xtc and alcohol that they could become my next addictions...
Where is one to find "honest" facts? Everyone, and I mean EVERYONE (oil companies, democracies, dictators, environmentalists, presidential candidates, public schools, my dog, etc.), has a vested interest in their own facts being the one and only, written in 10 commandment stone, truth.
The sad truth is that as young sponges we have been brainwashed (through no fault of our own by reigions, relatives, schools/teachers, political idealogies, and science which once said that the world is flat and the Earth is center of the Universe). As younglings, we aren't allowed to learn and grow on our own. We are directed down certain paths via these outside, and very much interested, parties.
I believe that everything is fluid and constantly in motion. So, I have a hard time accepting facts as concrete--there are just too many variables with time being the biggest.
Yes, information and facts are great, but how can we believe facts from EXTREMISTS who cry that the sky is falling each, and every, day? I thought for sure I would die in the apocalypse of Y2K, the SARS pandemic, AIDS, or the Bird Flu. I mean I can't open a paper without hearing about these and other terrifying disasters affecting the world. Currently, I'm in a bunker hiding out because I am so afraid of the acid rain (1970's) that by now must have killed all life on the North American continent.
Surely, the world's poplulation must have had a tremendous blow dealt to it because of all these problems. Are there any breeding pairs left, or have the few remaining survivors all become sterile?
Or, have the asteroids wiped out life on the planet yet? Maybe my life on this planet has been one long dream and I am in limbo. That would suck becuase I really want to know if the Earth is actually billions of years old or only 10,000 like my religious (dinosaur denying) friends would have me believe.
John from Daejeon
Post a Comment