We have been overwhelmed with recent news of public figures and teen “idols” getting into trouble with drugs and checking into high priced rehab centers that seem to resemble more of a vacation destination than a self improvement drug rehab. From Al Gore III, to Paris Hilton and Lindsay Lohan, it seems like the funds for rehab are unlimited while the majority of addicts trying to get help have spent all their money on their addiction and cannot afford to get into treatment centers without the assistance of federal or state funding. Usually these kinds of treatment centers have long waiting lists and substandard treatment due to low funding.
It saddens me to no end that public figures such as Paris Hilton and Lindsay Lohan are looked up to in many circles and considered to be idols with millions of little girls wanting to “be like” them when they grow up. Read More »
August 5, 2007 – 12:48 pm
In response to some very worthwhile and intuitive comments on this issue, I thought I’d do a follow-up post clarifying some of my feelings on the subject. My issues with this program lie in the limited benefits of needle exchange after weighing in all the factors of drug addiction.
Yes, this program may prevent many HIV/AIDS cases contracted through use of infected needles and that’s great. Truly, one live saved is worth the effort no matter what.
But I remain weary when I think about the idea that this program is not doing much to actually target the problem of addiction itself and ignoring the blantant illegality of drug paraphernalia. I agree with my husband when he suggests that the taxpayers might be better served by their money going to beds for treatment centers.
Having clean needles may help with one of many dangerous and devastating aspects of drug use. But it also perpetuates drug use, leaving a plethora of other devastating effects of addiction unaddressed.
I just feel that there has got to be a better way for us to reach out to addicts and help them get their lives back on track, as opposed to handing out clean needles to continue the same dangerous and addictive behavior.
Clearly, we all agree that more funding needs to go into drug treatment and addiction education programs, and I guess until the day comes when we can see that idea become more of a reality, any program (like the needle exchange program) is like putting a band-aid on an amputated limb. It may very well save some people from HIV/AIDS, but it leaves the door open, further perpetuating drug use and addiction. And that is the bigger problem, the effects of which can be felt from every angle.
August 1, 2007 – 10:52 am
You could call me naive and I would have agreed with you a few years back. I used to be a bartender at some of the trendiest and busiest spots in San Jose. Up until very recently - maybe 2 years, I was completely unaware of the ridiculous amounts of drugs and alcohol being abused in these places. I would have to say that the restaurant business is one of the most dangerous industries to develop an addiction if you’re not careful. Short of Hollywood, I can’t think of another industry where someone could find drugs at every turn. The sad part is that the food/beverage industry is not one that requires drug tests for employment and hires 18 yearolds dying to fit in and willing to abandon home grown morals to do so. Before I began bartending, I admit I didn’t know a thing about drugs or alcoholism. I’d never been exposed to either. I never did drugs and I didn’t drink prior to turning 21. I walked a pretty straight line.
For the years that I bartended in San Jose, I saw drug abuse go from obnoxious to frightening. I had a bar manager who was always tweaked out on meth and stealing bottles every night, then blaming the bartenders for the loss. I remember a general manager who would be awake for days on end, eyes popping out of his head all day and still drinking a bottle of vodka after his shift, while chatting with the customers. I watched the owner of a club downtown who’s mood would change like the direction of the wind, depending on his cocaine usage for the day and a co-worker I almost called the ambulance for when the ketamine he snorted didn’t interact too well with the cocaine, alcohol and ecstasy already in his system. God knows the club owner wouldn’t have called an ambulance. He didn’t want the responsibility of an overdose in his establishment.
I started bartending for the excitement and enjoyment of being in a high energy and faced paced environment and I got just that, but I wasn’t expecting to see so many people within one structure, all of whom need to be in rehab. It saddened me to see my former co-workers crushing up Vicodin and taking ecstasy pills, chased by a shot of whiskey. It made me sad for them, wishing there was some way I could get through to them and help them realize they aren’t going to last long with this lifestyle. I’ve tried to talk to many of them, even offering them free treatment at one of the nation’s best rehab centers in Malibu, but like many people in my position, I heard a laundry list of excuses. “My parents can’t find out”, “I have a club to run. I can’t take the time off”, “I can’t afford not to work for a month”. You name it, I heard it. These people don’t think they’re addicts. They think they’re having a good time and hey, “If it doesn’t kill you…” The sad part is that it will kill them and they’ll never see it coming. While I did enjoy my time as a bartender, it became too depressing for me to see this kind of abuse and addiction with such denial - so I had to gracefully bow out.
I guess as long as your the manager of the hot restaurant, the owner of the downtown club, or the bartender everyone knows and loves, the closer the bottom gets, the harder it is to see.
If I went to my doctor and told him that I think I suffer from an anxiety disorder because I can’t focus and I’m always concerned about everything under the sun, would you take a bet that I’d walk out that day with a prescription for benzodiazepines? I bet I would. I’ve watched people do it and there was nothing wrong with them. On the other hand, I’ve seen people with legitimate anxiety or depression get massive amounts of benzos prescribed to them - along the lines of 13 a day, including XANAX, Ativan, and Clonazepam. I could be crazy myself, but it seems to me that anyone requiring that kind of medication at such high dosages shouldn’t be walking the street.
All this chatter about prescription drugs and those who become addicted through legitimate and illegitimate means is giving me anxiety. But I’m not going to the doctor’s office. I’ve seen the damage these drugs do and I’m not going to fall under that spell. I don’t even like taking Tylenol. Read More »
