Drug week
Honestly, I thought I had a lot of basic knowledge of recreational drugs. Back home in LA, I know many friends who smoke marijuana regularly and some friends who occasionally do other types of drugs such as ecstasy or coke. I personally never tried any recreational drugs not because I knew of their harmful effects thoroughly but rather it just seemed stupid and expensive. Reading the brochure from NIDA, “Drugs : Shatter the myths” , I was surprised to find out that chances of becoming addicted to marijuana is 1 in 11, and the fact that becoming addicted to any drug is different for each person. So I sent a text message to my friend who smokes marijuana regularly and asked him if he can stop smoking marijuana if he wanted to, his answer was “why would I do that’. Wow, blow to the head.
Fact: More than 4 in 10 people begin drinking before 15 become alcoholics. I don’t think bad of alcohol at all but the statistics is quite mind blowing. I never drank alcohol till I reached my high teens and as of right now, I have never gotten “drunk”perhaps ever slightly intoxicated. Its chilling to think that that one shot of liquor consumed in an early age has such high odds of becoming an alcoholic.
Drugs…they are just everywhere these days. Turn on the radio, they’re rapping about it, watch a random movie on netflix, someone has a bag of weed, drugs have become ubiquitous in our culture. Therefore it’s detrimental effects have become euphemized into harmless and fun activities. Even me, I thought I knew about drugs, for heaven’s sake, those hours I spent listening to Just say No lectures in middle school and high school plus multiple required health courses, you’d think I’d have some clue. Yet many of facts jumped at me and took me by surprise.
