Healing Addicted Lives: An Essential Component in the Fight Against Drug and Alcohol Addiction in the U.S.
Sadly, the supply of illicit drugs in our country has not changed markedly despite billions of dollars devoted to fighting the war on drugs. The efforts of drug enforcement agents to reduce the flow of drugs into the country are often temporarily effective but drug abuse statistics prove that the enforcement alone does not solve the problem.
Enforcement efforts have reduced the abuse of pharmaceutical drugs but some users have turned to heroin use in several states, according to the Drug Enforcement Agency. Coca production in Columbia was reduced for some years, but now is on the rise as growers modify their cultivation methods and expand their plantings outside the country. Domestic efforts to reduce the supply or precursor chemicals for methamphetamine production worked to reduce the number of small lab seizures in the U.S., but Mexican drug-trafficking organizations turned to China for their chemicals and established Super-labs (meth labs capable of producing as much as fifty pounds of meth per production cycle) in rural California or Mexico. As long as Americans demand illegal drugs, someone will find a way to provide the supply.
To save lives from drug abuse and overuse of alcohol, drug enforcement must be matched with effective actions to eliminate demand. Current abusers must be restored to a productive, enjoyable life. Young people faced with decisions about drug or alcohol abuse must be educated on the repercussions of abuse and addiction.
“It is completely possible to replace the loss and pain of alcohol or drug addiction with a productive, enjoyable life,” stated Ryan Thorpe, Director of Admissions at Narconon Arrowhead, one of the country’s leading drug and alcohol rehabilitation and education centers, located in Canadian, Oklahoma. “In fact, it’s not only possible; it’s an essential part of what we do to help eliminate the addiction problem in this country, along with our popular drug education lectures to students.
