A Second Opinion: Life is Short, so Don’t Snort!
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Never starting to use is the real solution, no matter how much pressure”friends”
put you under. Young people who “say ‘No” to drugs” may be ridiculed,
ostracized, bullied or worse, but “No!” is their best reply
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by Mary Foran
Everybody who is ANYBODY is waging “The War on Drugs”! Heroin, cocaine, meth-amphetamines, hallucinogenics, LSD, etc. and now the scourge of the current decade, Opiates and prescription pain killers and other medicines which have been loosely prescribed.
Marijuana, however, which has been considered a “doorway” drug, is now being sold off the shelf for all sorts of medical conditions and now, in some States, for “recreational” purposes.
Not all States have gone for that status, but the experiment is being tried here and there, with heavy taxes on the weed-growers to reap some societal rewards, such as in State Lotteries, which turn gamblers into philanthropists without them really realizing it! And the same goes for the “tea-totallers'” nemesis: liquor!
The Drug Trade is still such a terrible problem, that the current Administration is hoping to drive the Traders out: out of hiding, out of selling, out of this country, and Out of Business.
Other countries have tried their level best to deal with the problem too: with needle exchanges, and health care and rehabilitation centers. THE PROBLEM seems to only get worse, as young and older try to escape from whatever reality they can’t seem to face otherwise.
UK-bound yacht, foreground, intercepted in the Caribbean in a joint operation by the National Crime Agency and the Metropolitan Police Service of the UK, and the French authorities. The yacht was carrying some 250 kilos of cocaine
The Drug Pushers thrive on the weak and disheartened, the simply rebellious, and the disenchanted. And they don’t mind “soaking the rich” either, since theirs is a money-making enterprise. The boredom of the rich seeking greater and greater “highs” in their materialistic and non-conscientious lives delight the drug cartels who are only too happy to provide them with “the goods” they seek to “find themselves”.
So, the problem of drug-trafficking is really a two-way street: users who stop using foil the beasts.
But never starting to use is the real solution, no matter how much pressure “friends” put you under. Young people who “say No” to drugs may be ridiculed, ostracized, bullied or worse, but “No!” is their best reply.
I’ve heard politicians referring to the Opioid crisis in America recently, with talk of prescription drugs being swiped out of parents’ drug cabinets by experimenting teens. A good talking to by parents and teachers might just not fall on deaf ears. In any case, American Drug Cabinets are far too full of swipeable prescriptions ANYWAY! Hypochondria is a real problem in many families!
“Maybe a simple massage is the answer to the aches and pains of living”
If “The War on Drugs” is to be won, old-fashioned remedies such as a dip in mineral hot springs, a beach or mountain vacation, a relaxing paseo, and gentle stretching exercises such as in YOGA or Tai-chi, or pain-relieving pomades may just help aches and pains go away faster and more completely than popping pills.
Some believe in acupuncture, a whole philosophy in and of itself. Some believe in “Australian Dream”, a reliever of arthritis pain in a massageable cream. Maybe a simple, thorough, Swedish massage is the answer to the aches and pains of living.
In any case, there are alternatives to that finalizing pain killer: morphine.
I have to say that I believe in more natural medicines than most doctors have learned to prescribe.
And I believe that “Life is Short, so Don’t Snort!”
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Images
Featured image: an illustration (not real snort) by Victor (https://www.flickr.com/photos/v1ctor/), cc by2.0
Cocaine yacht/National Crime Agency, CC BY2.0
Massage in a spa in Frankfurt, Germany/Thomas Wanhoff, CC BY-SA2.0
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About Mary
Born Seattle, WA, U.S.A., and a graduate of the University of Oregon in Spanish and General Literature, Mary lived in Madrid, Spain during the 80s, a period in Spanish history which became known as “The Transition”. She taught English as a Foreign Language, and worked as Managing Editor of the Guidepost when it was still a weekly print publication. She did a stint on Spanish Foreign Radio and Radio Cadena, and corresponded for a Financial Times of London newsletter. She still has ties to Spain, loves the people and the country, and has great hopes for the future!
