There are several reasons—that have been proven at the expense of peoples’ lives, futures and relationships—as to why drugs are harmful. They do not discriminate and the control they have over a person’s brain and body can be just as harmful as placing a gun to one’s head.
Physically, drugs can kill you. They can cause permanent damage to major organs, and many cancers, illnesses and cardiac and circulatory problems are traced back to a person’s use of drugs at some point in his or her life. A person can endure a long and painful death from a terminal situation, or even die suddenly from an overdose, a bad mixture or alcohol poisoning. Deaths occur and they can be attributed to many causes, but again, quite a few of these can be traced back to a time of drug use.
They can cause permanent damage to major organs, and many cancers, illnesses and cardiac and circulatory problems are traced back to a person's use of drugs at some point in his or her life.
Financially, drugs can bankrupt you. If you are addicted to drugs or alcohol, you can end up spending hundreds of dollars a month, sometimes more, in order to get your fix or a drink. If you are doling out money for drugs and alcohol, then there is something else that is not getting paid. The house gets foreclosed on, you get evicted by your landlord, the utilities get shut off because they were not paid and creditors are calling about those unpaid maxed-out credit cards. You are drowning in a pool of debt.
Legally, you could face penalties, fines and imprisonment. Drinking is legal, but drinking and driving is not. You are not only risking your own life with such a poor choice, but the car you might hit could have an innocent child and his or her parents in it. And guess what? Drugs are illegal. The majority of people in prison are there because their crimes had to do with drugs or drinking: a person committed armed robbery because they were desperate for money to buy a fix; someone bought and/or sold drugs; and another person was convicted of a felony DWI because they did not learn their lesson after their first two DWI convictions.
Emotionally, you can lose everyone. You lose yourself. The person you become as a drug addict is not the same person who did well in school, or who responsibly took care of his family, or cared for her little ones. That drug addict is not the same person your spouse looked in the eye and said “I do.” An enemy has taken over. That is why there are so many phrases around about the war on drugs, freedom fighters and overcoming addiction. Drug addiction is the enemy and it destroys families if addicts allow it to.
Given the four ways listed above, do you really need to know anymore reasons why drugs are harmful? This covers all the important ones—family being the most important of all.
Nick Hayes is a graduate of the Narconon drug rehab program in 2005. Nick takes much enjoyment in writing, and feels there needs to be more information about drugs and alcohol provided to the people of the world. He believes nobody should have to go through an addiction.