Why Drugs?
Why Drugs?
Why do people resort to drugs? Why is drug abuse the number one
problem American society faces? Why has the government declared a "war
on drugs?" The reason for any or all of the above is not because sick
people are trying to regain health. It is not due to the need for
physical or psychic healing. The reason why is also not simple. The
complexity of the drug abuse problem has challenged the best minds in
our land. In this short piece look with me briefly into some of the
reasons offered for this terrible plague that has fallen upon our
people. Today, we will look into this problem, but first ...
The West End Church of Christ presents these fifteen minute lessons
every Sunday. We have only one reason for doing it -- we want to preach
the truth of God's word without being restricted by human doctrines,
creeds, and wisdom. That is why we repeatedly ask anyone who listens to
communicate with us if you do not agree with what we teach on this
program. This is not done out of a spirit of dare, or challenge, but in
sincerity and in the interest of being absolutely right about the most
important issue of this life and of eternity.
We also want to invite you to attend our services. Bible study
begins at 9 a.m. Sunday morning. We have classes for all ages in which
the Bible is discussed and made relevant to living in this world today.
At 10 each Sunday morning we assemble to worship -- we honor God in the
reading and teaching of His word, several prayers, gospel songs, giving
of our means, and partaking of the sacred memorial feast of the Lord's
Supper. Sunday evening we assemble for worship at 6 p.m and mid-week
Bible study is each Wednesday night at 7 p.m.
It is helpful to limit what is meant by the use and abuse of drugs
in society. Drug abuse is not easy to define. Robert M. Julien, of
Oregon University's Health Sciences Center, wrote, "In general it seems
to imply the use of any drug for other than its assigned purposes.
However, the concept of assigned purpose is vague. Does it refer to use
only in medicine, or to use only according to a doctor's prescription?
Does this mean that all uses of drugs for other than the treatment of
medically diagnoses disorders is abuse of drugs?" (A Primer of Drug
Action, 3rd Edition, page 209).
One reason why it is difficult to pin down what drug abuse is
centers in the lax attitude society has developed toward certain
socially acceptable drugs. Specifically, nicotine and ethyl alcohol
have been "galvanized into respectability." It is socially acceptable
to have a drink with friends. Cigarette smoking, while dangerous to
both smokers and non smokers, is still quite legal and accepted. With
the repeal of prohibition came the influx of alcohol related
difficulties. And, if society and the government become consistent one
may well look forward to the day when all psychoactive drugs will be
legalized and controlled. Again Robert Julien rightly observes, "Our
experiences with alcohol pose a dim future for a society whose only form
of escape becomes drug oriented." (Ibid.)
Using drugs provides a person with an escape route from pressures
and difficulties in day to day existence. The use of drugs is
attributable to either medical or recreational usage. Medical usage of
drugs involves treatment of a diagnosed disease, disorder, or malady.
Sometimes medication is prescribed as a preventative to ward off disease
or pain. Medication is often used to alleviate physical or mental
disorders. All of this is legitimate and right. But the so-called
recreational use of drugs is another story.
Those who use drugs recreationally seek relief from anxiety and
tension, or as a means into a state of euphoria. Recreational use of
drugs includes the desire to alter ones state of consciousness,
expansion of one's creative abilities, efforts to make one oblivious to
internal moods and pressures, or simply an escape from anything
unpleasant. Those who simply seek the thrill of experimentation with
something new are among recreational drug users.
Of the two categories of drug users only the first is legitimate.
Recreational use of drugs is positively illegal, therefore is a misuse
and abuse of drugs. Julien gives a fairly good definition of drug
misuse. He calls it, "the use of any drug (legal or illegal) for
medical or recreational purpose when other alternatives are available,
practical, or warranted, or where drug use endangers either the users or
others around them." He is a little too mild in his definition. What
is legally forbidden is always more than simple misuse of a product --
it is an abuse pure and simple.
It is odd that within just a couple of generations drug abuse has
sifted down to our generation from the "hop head" in some opium den to
elementary students in our schools. In a book published by The Child
Study Press, the authors observe, "People in every era, in every
generation and in every country have turned to drugs to reduce the pain
of existence or to produce a special experience which was otherwise not
available." You, Your Child, and Drugs, page 5.
And yet the availability of any kind of psychoactive drug such as
marijuana, LSD, amphetamines, barbiturates, and alcohol is overwhelming.
One note of interest is that often people either do not know or simply
ignore the fact that nicotine and caffeine are also psychoactive drugs.
One of the most frequently stated reasons children give for misusing
drugs is that their parents drink beer, wine, or distilled spirits,
smoke tobacco and drink caffeinated coffee. We seem to have learned to
accept some drugs while rejecting others.
Young people learn to misuse drugs for several reasons. It is
fundamental, however, to know that the decision to use an illegal
substance by a child is in fact a conscious decision. The staff of the
Child Study Association of America makes this remarkable comment.
"Another reality is frequently overlooked: young people decide to use
drugs because this seems to be the best choice available to them. True,
some young children are introduced to drugs by irresponsible older
children or adults at an age when they really do not know what they are
doing. But for most youngsters, there is a moment when a decision is
made ... Only when the young person uses drugs to the point where
psychological dependency or physical addiction develops is his power to
decide weakened." (Ibid., page 16). Children are not merely the product
of their influences -- they are what they decide to do when influenced
by others.
The drug problem in young people cannot be attributed to
environment alone. Children are not nonresistant casualties of their
environment and influence. They decide to experiment with some mind
altering substance or not. When they are confronted with the first
opportunity to taste intoxicating beverages, sniff some souped up
inhalant, or take a "toke" on a marijuana cigarette, they either decide
to do it or not to do it. As the Child Study group says, "Bad decisions
as well as 'bad influences' are at the core of the drug problem."
Chief among the reasons children decide to use illegal drugs is
peer pressure. At an early age children develop a keen sense of
personal identity and that means being accepted by their peers. It
starts in the family. Children develop a sense of being part of
something larger than themselves and the family relationship provides
it. When their world becomes a bit larger and they branch out into
society, that desire to be part of something is exacerbated. They want
to be accepted by those they wish to be part of. Thus their actions and
attitudes are formed within them in keeping with their perception of
what it takes to be accepted. Peer pressure is immensely strong.
If the community exists where there is not a youthful user of
illegal drugs, it is a rarity. If in fact such a community did exist
it is not likely that it would remain that way very long. There is some
child, boy or girl, who urges the other children to try that which is
forbidden. Forbidden pleasures seem extremely sweet to youth. It may
be something foolish such as stealing something, experimenting with
sexual immorality, drinking an intoxicant, whiffing up some fumes from
glue, or smoking marijuana. Again, the Child Study Association says,
"For a number of youngsters, one of the most pressing reasons for
experimenting with drugs is a need to belong to a group who are already
taking drugs. This may be coupled with unusually strong curiosity, or
ignorance about the effects of drugs, or with a need to take risks."
(Ibid., page 18).
Another strong reason children begin using illegal drugs is what
they see in those they admire. It begins at home. A young man from
Bridgeport, Connecticut said, "In my house, you can't sneeze without
getting a pill. My mother is always taking something for headaches and
my father is always taking something to keep awake to get his work done
at night. They're not drunks but they sure drink a lot. So, now I'm a
criminal for smoking pot?" When youngsters see rock and roll musicians
using illegal drugs, when they read of strong athletes who use drugs, or
even national personalities such as the mayor of Washington, D.C. using
drugs, they are influenced to mimic those they look up to. The news
media often sensationalize the drug problem and, believe it or not, this
whets the appetites of some youngsters to find out for themselves what
it is all about.
Inconsistency in adults can give young people a reason to use
illegal substances for a thrill. Alcohol is the number one drug problem
world wide, yet it is legalized, advertised, aggrandized, and galvanized
into respectability. Parents who take a cocktail before dinner, a
sleeping pill before bedtime, and all those other little pills they
somehow think they cannot get along without, put before their children
an example that leads to the use of the drugs of their choice.
Some children experiment with illegal drugs to escape from tension
or boredom. They are led to believe that drugs will elevate them into a
"beautiful experience." Why do you think they call the effects of drugs
a "high?" They think it will boost their consciousness, their skills,
and bring them to a plane of experience such as they have never known
before. What they are never told, until it is too late, that what goes
up must come down. The trip up is much more exhilarating than the trip
down.
Other youngsters turn to drugs out of rebellion against authority.
Somehow, some children build up an great feeling of resentment against
being told what they can and cannot do. Whether this is parental
authority, school authority, or civil authority, they begin to think
they must rebel. They have to show their independence. Some young
people began the use of illegal drugs just to show their parents they
didn't have to listen to them. This is their way of showing their
aggression. They find it thrilling to upset their parents. And sadly,
their rebellion is often simply an attention getting device.
Basically, youngsters turn to drugs when they lack something basic
to them. Something that should be there is missing in their lives.
They feel cheated. It may be that had parents provided the right
example and instruction to a wayward child a tragedy could have been
avoided. There should have been something equally as attractive to the
child as drugs offered -- but there wasn't. Those who need a "high" and
achieve it through the use of illegal drugs have never sought the right
kind of boost in life. There may be some collective fault, but there is
no escape from the fact that as rational beings, children must learn
that the decisions they make require acceptance of the consequences.
Many drug rehabilitation programs now are offering what are called
"alternatives." A list of "levels of experience" includes physical,
sensory, emotional, interpersonal, social, political, intellectual, and
creative esthetic. For each of these, which some seek in drugs,
alternatives are listed. The fullest sense of pleasure, satisfaction,
and accomplishment comes from enjoying the fullness of blessings in
Christ Jesus. In Him, one may be fully satisfied, and complete. To
seek a so-called "high" in Christ is better expressed as seeking to know
the peace that passes all understanding. That is the direct result of
faith that obeys without question what the Lord has revealed. To
execute His will, to live for and in Him is not only fully satisfying,
it is a great honor and privilege.
Why drugs? The addict could respond by asking, "What do you have
that is better?" And the best offer is a life free from all the sins of
the past, free in Christ from the power of sin, and possession of the
power to resist anything that is evil and sensual. There is really only
one sure drug rehabilitation program -- faith in Jesus Christ as the Son
of God manifested daily in a life of complete surrender to His will.
If you have a question about any of these things that have been
said -- please contact us. Our mailing address is West End Church of
Christ, 1609 Parkside Drive, Bowling Green, Ky. 42101. If you would
like our free monthly paper, or any kind of Bible study materials, we
will try to help you. Well, thank you again -- we appreciate the
opportunity to come to you each Sunday on this radio station and hope
you'll be back here again next Sunday -- 8 a.m. Goodbye and God bless
you.
Radio Sermon No. 34
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Lyrics, Chords Tabs Rated
Children's NT Studies
