Drugs Take a Toll

Death by drugs is common. Those who died from drugs include Elvis Presley, Marilyn Munroe, Michael Jackson, John Belushi, Chris Farley, River Phoenix, Janice Joplin, Jimi Hendricks, Anna Nicole Smith, Heath Ledger, Whitney Houston, Prince and many others.

https://www.drugs.com/celebrity_deaths.html

A common pattern is taking sedatives to go to sleep and stimulants to wake up. Drug-dependent people are taking a risk of early death. They underestimate the damage drugs can do.

Homelessness used to be a result of alcohol addiction and night shelters smelled like Gin Stills.  Now we have added drug addicts to the homeless population and those who used to camp by railroad tracks as Hobos and now crowded on downtown streets in Los Angeles and San Francisco.

When addiction leads to violence and disruption on the part of the addict, families need to banish the addict.  Addict behavior can pose dangers of theft and dangerous associates. Addict behavior can include “Jekyll and Hyde” behaviors and families are forced to banish the addict.

Treatment is restricted by health insurers and relapses are common.  Eventually, homelessness becomes part of the “treatment”.  Addicts must “hit bottom” and decide to end their addiction and nobody else can do this for them. A big part of the “cure” is work.  If addicts can find jobs, they have a chance to end their addictions. It can take years and lots of AA meetings to do this.

I volunteered to spend the night in a homeless shelter years ago. I met an alcoholic who had been married, worked as a Dentist, lost his Practice and lost his family. He had been trying to conquer his addiction for 3 years.

Norb Leahy, Dunwoody GA Tea Party Leader