Once upon a time there was a boy and a girl and they were in love and neither had ever taken drugs.
When the boy turned 21 he celebrated by having his first ever ecstasy pill. He had a good time, but his girlfriend didn’t really understand why he couldn’t get his act together a couple of days later when he was coming down.
Fast forward a few months, and the boy suggested to the girl that she could try a pill too, to see what this business was all about. She too liked it, and now understood why coming down felt like wading through muddy sludge.
The boy and girl continued to be in love and started partying together. They had strict rules – they couldn’t take drugs more often than once a month, and they had limits on how much drugs they would have at one time. They took ecstasy and speed, had long happy nights out dancing, and lots of cuddles and comfort food through the come downs.
Eventually, they broke up.
The boy kept taking drugs, he experimented with different types of drugs in different combinations, he even injected meth a few times. But he never broke his once-a-month rule and never got into any financial, legal, medical or relationship difficulties because of his use.
His (ex) girlfriend kept taking drugs too. She developed a liking for injecting meth. In fact, she got addicted. She would go on weekly binges – not sleeping or eating for days, before crashing into exhaustion, depression and the World’s Worst Mood. She held down a good job, but was frequently broke, couldn’t maintain a relationship and did damage (some of it permanent) to her health.
The boy and the girl were not so very different when they first started taking drugs.
They ended up in very different places.
Why is it that some people get addicted to drugs, and others never do? Is it the sort of thing you can predict – about another person, about yourself – before you even start?
And is there something more, or different, that governments and health services should be doing to help people avoid getting addicted in the first place? Is there even any way to prevent addiction?
3 Comments
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Paulwillfixit
over 2 years ago
Million dollar questions!
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(r)evolutionary
over 2 years ago
Hey Paul, I reckon you make two really interesting points here..
That bit about being careful if you're aware you're at risk of being addicted? I think *that* hits the nail on the head. From what I've seen, the level of self-awareness that different people have seems to have a lot to do with whether or not they get into real trouble with using drugs. Of course, it can be a bit hard to be properly self-aware when you're still young and learning, is the tricky bit.
And I totally agree with you that in the case of people that are addicted, it'd be much better if they could get what they need in a regulated safer way (eg through a doctor) then having to run the risks they do with dealers on the street.
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elif
almost 2 years ago
Hey
I would have to agree with the two above posts . Some people have a more addictive personality. It also can be found in our history I heard or read that it could be found in our genetic material as in if your mother or father is addicted to smokes, alcohol you would be more likely to have an addictive personality. I do believe there is a lot that the government can do to change these issues .I think there could be education about these issues that should lead to self awareness among people to stop people getting addicted to drugs, alcohol or other things.
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