Drugs Danger Shatters the Lives of Young People
The Universe
(July 13, 2003)
ONE of the most revealing and transforming of my
experiences of my missionary life wash when I was first assigned to Olongapo
City in the Philippines 34 years ago and I was confronted with a drug crazed
14-year-old who was about to kill himself. I prevented that terrible loss
and he recovered to lead a wealthy, valuable life.
Similar incidents prompted me to
open PREDA, a recovery center for drug dependents and start a drug abuse
preventive education campaign in the school and colleges.
Drug abuse wreaked havoc among the young people of the Philippines and presence of the huge US Military bases created a huge demand among the sailors and marines escaping the horrors of the Vietnam War. This bad example spread to the young teenagers, who used the chemical to try and change their feelings of alienation, loneliness and anger against society and even their parents. The devastating side effects of drugs brought hundreds of young teenagers into our recovery and empowerment center where they overcame their dependency. They resolved their feelings of pain and hurt and were reconciled with their parents whom we helped with family therapy and counseling.
Today the danger of drugs still shatters the lives of many young people
and brings untold suffering to uncomprehending parents.
Britain and Ireland have their share of casualties and victims of this perverse trade in dangerous drugs. According to some estimates, it is the biggest single money earning business in the world, after arms trading. Sex trafficking is the third biggest earner.
We hear of deaths of teenagers and now recent research tells us that the most commonly used drug, marijuana, and its chemical component cannabis, can bring on schizophrenia, especially in young people whose brains are still developing and are highly susceptible to its effects.
A recent article in the Irish Times by Nadine O’Regan reports widespread use of cannabis among adults and even school children, the long term effects are still unknown.
Although iun my experience for 18 years, the effects were all too obvious. After the high or euphoria of a pot session, the users sink into a stat of depression. They lose interest in life, get lower grades and suffer from a sense of aimlessness and disorientation and recurring depression.
Much more is now known about the effects of cannabis on the brain today, especially since the varieties grown nowadays are stronger drug dependents.
The research work of Dr. Stanley Zammit, as reported by Nadine O’Reagan, studied the effects of cannabis among 50,000 Swedish military conscripts during a 27-year period and found, “that conscripts who had smoked cannabis more had a 300 per cent increased risk of developing schizophrenia, compared with non-cannabis users. This risk was dose dependent.”
What is most disturbing is the information gathered from a national survey among British school children which indicates that 79 per cent believe that cannabis is “safe” and that only two per cent believe that there are health risks linked to the use of the drug, O’Reagan reports.
I find this very disturbing as the debate about legalizing the use of cannabis.
The health hazard of smoking tobacco has been finally realized and now an equally dangerous drug will be legal and approved.
The advocates for this must be developing a form of schizophrenia.
