Effects of Drug and Substance Abuse
I would like to talk briefly about drug abuse and its effects.
I know you've heard about this topic several times before. And I stand here to talk about it once more, because it's a serious safety and health concern that has inflamed tqe lives of many in our society. According to the recent survey done by NACADA, 20% of Kenyans are drug abusers. And that translates to 10,000,000 people.
Therefore we must continue with this discussion until the goodness of time.
Here in Kenya, these drugs are categorized into either legal or illegal. The illegal ones are cocaine, heroin, marijuana, kuber, cannabis and chang'aa. The legal ones are tobacco, miraa and alcohol i.e. beer, wines and spirits.
But whether licit or illicit, the abuse of these drugs is never glorious and we must never trumpet it as such. This is because they pose similar threats and effects to the consumer.
Some of the effects include:-
1. Effect on your health
The consumption of these drugs weakens your immune system, thereby subjecting your body to illnesses and infections that will eventually compromise your health.
2. Financial burden
Maintaining this lifestyle is expensive and it can drain your pocket if early interventions are not taken.
The cost of rehabilitation is also high. When you get admitted to those rehabilitation centers you will not pay less than 4k per day. Suppose you get admitted for one or two months. How much will it cost you? Ofcourse alot of money.
3. Effect on family
Those who are close to drug abusers are the most affected by the criticism, conflict and domestic violence that emanates from this menace.
Also, if you are an addict, the probability of your children following your footsteps is very high and this habit might trickle down to your 3rd or 4th generation.
4. Crime
Maintaining this lifestyle requires a lot money. And suppose you lack that money. What will happen? Circumstances will force you to commit a crime to obtain money for drugs.
And you might not like the consequences.
Ofcourse there are many other effects, but these ones are telling us that no matter how justified, drug abuse promises human tragedy and solves no social problem. It merely creates more and complicated ones.
I know some people will argue that the use of these drugs is necessary, and therefore morally justified, and others, who I think are the majority will oppose that statement.
And this remains to be part of our challenge i.e. reconciling those two seemingly in reconcilable statements; that drug abuse is necessary according to some people, and according to others it's an expression of human folly. I agree with the latter statement.
Even King Solomon, the wisest man of all time confirmed this message when he said that whoever is intoxicated is not wise. And that biblical verse reminds me of a quote I found in my payslip, which says that drug abuse is nothing but voluntary madness.
But anyway today I do not bring with me a definitive solution to the problems of drug abuse. What I know is that meeting these challenges will require all of us to work in concert and bent our history in the direction of soberness.
We can as well pledge to keep ourselves, our families and our loved ones away from drugs.
And by doing so, we will be able to avoid all those detrimental effects, and perhaps live out our lives with some measure of happiness.
