| Drug Scourge |
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December 6, 2007 by Gloria Penner Despite government’s attempts to suppress drug use through legislation and criminal penalties, drug use and drug addiction have exploded in the 21st century. In California, at the start of the century, alcohol addiction was most prevalent. Now, just 7 years later, the culprit is methamphetamine. Meth is highly addictive and although San Diego was termed “The Meth Capitol” ten years ago, that title has melted away as every city and every state is now riddled with meth users. The appeal of meth is beyond the sense of well-being imposed by many other traditional drugs. Its high is called the “superman syndrome” because it creates such a feeling of self-confidence that abusers have been known to attempt impossible feats, such as leaping off roofs, expecting to fly. The meth high is so seductive that so-called “speed freaks” will do anything and everything to avoid crashing. But each high takes more meth, and increased use methodically destroys the body, the mind, the family, and all relationships. Since meth is manufactured, it is readily available, but at a cost. The meth tab adds up and too often leads the addict to criminal activity to support the habit. Thus, the destruction becomes complete, compromising not only the physical individual and the relationships, but also morality and values.
As meth addiction advances through society, an entire treatment industry has sprung up, and along with it, an attempt to influence public policy in California. There’s no guarantee that treatment will work or that one program is better than another. The only guarantee that a meth abuser has is that life will be forever changed and death is a possibility. And the only guarantee for Californians is that a disproportionate share of their tax money will continue to be consumed by the costs to society imposed by methamphetamine. |
