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.Alternatives to DrugsPeople continue to take drugs even when they are aware of unhealthful side effects.The classic case is cigarettesmoking the "mature" adults in our society have shown a remarkable resistance to giving up cigarettes, eventhough they know the health hazards involved.This type of behavior helps us to understand a "mystery" about drug abuse that may point the way to somesolutions.The secret is an observation often overlooked because it is so simple: people use drugs because theywant to.They get some enjoyment from drugs, even if the enjoyment is temporary.People use drugs in the hopeof feeling better, whatever that might mean for each individual.Unfortunately, most drugs seem to exact a moreprecious price than the "high" they give, the fun they provide, or the relief they temporarily produce.Psychologists and educators say to drug users, "You know that drugs are bad for you, physically and mentally!You've seen the damage that drugs have done to friends of yours! But you keep doing it.How can we convinceyou to stop?" The young person takes it all in and quietly challenges, " Show me something better!"This tells us a lot about preventing drug abuse before it destroys a person's chance to make a life for themselves.People will stop using drugs as soon as they find something better.People are not as likely to start serious drugabuse if they have something better going for them.The "something better" is what we might call an alternativeto drugs.The common denominator of all successful drug abuse prevention and treatment programs is theirability to provide the potential user, the experimenter, or the addict with meaningful and satisfying alternatives.REASONS FOR NOT USING DRUGSBIGGEST DETERRENT FOR PERCENTAGE OFNOT USING DRUGS STUDENTS*1.No need (i.e., life is fine,I'm happy, or I turn onother ways) 39.82.Concern about interferingwith physical and mentalhealth and athletics 22.43.Because of the laws (i.e.,respect for the law or fearof getting busted) 7.14.Brains and good judgment(i.e., having them) 6.25.Fear of the unknown 6.06.Seen results in otherpeople 4.97.Out of love and respect forparents 4.48.Fear of addiction 3.49.Friends (i.e., peer pressureagainst drug use) 3.210.Other (not yet beencontacted to take drugs,personal values orreligion, unfavorablepast experience, poorquality of drugs, don'tknow, etc.) 10.2*Percentage adds up to over 100 percent becauseof some multiple answers.When we talk about "alternatives" to drugs, we do not mean the same thing as "substitutes" for drugs.Onecrutch is not necessarily better than another.A young heroin addict might give up "junk" in order to join aviolent street gang; this might be a substitute, but it is not a very constructive alternative.Another thing torealize about alternatives is that no one alternative is relevant for everyone.There is a pertinent saying in thedrug field: "Different strokes for different folks." We know that people abuse drugs for different motives andneeds.Sometimes these motives and needs come from deficiency, from serious problems.But other times thereare positive needs causing drug experimentation, like the desire for adventure, curiosity, or the urge to exploreoneself.Since people have varying needs and aspirations, the alternatives replacing drugs must also vary.Generally, alternatives must be stronger as drug dependency gets stronger.The hardcore heroin addict has to befaced with a very involving alternative.Many successful former addicts have undergone deep spiritualconversions.Others have been rehabilitated through a tightly controlled residential therapeutic communitywhere they could neither obtain drugs nor kid anybody about who they were.When children first start out in school, it is possible to provide them with much subtler alternatives like a realjoy for learning, respect for themselves and their bodies, and the ability to understand and enjoy other children.The more people have good feelings about themselves, the better they can appreciate and relate to others; themore they know what is important in their lives, the less attraction the drug experience will have for them.It isnot so much that drug-free people are afraid of drugs educators have not been successful in scaring studentsout of drug use it is more that they have better things to do than getting "stoned" with chemicals.When some teachers and students decided to get together to do a drug survey at a high school near San Francisco, a questionnaire was devised and circulated by students; replies were anonymous.At that time, about halfthe students were using drugs.In addition to other questions, the nonusers (about 400) were asked the question,"If you do not use drugs, what has been the biggest deterrent for not using them?" The 260 completed responsesto this open-ended question were categorized and gave the results shown in Table I (page 000).This table shows a very interesting trend the greatest percentage of reasons given reflect positive reasons fornot using drugs; only a few mentioned fear of something bad happening [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]