There is no doubt that the topic of drugs is highly controversial, but it is also a topic about which there is little information available for the general public. What’s really scary is that this isn't a mere coincidence. Information on drugs is purposely being kept hidden as best as possible from both parents and the government. Have you ever considered this before?

It is no secret that our country suffers from a high rate of drug addiction, especially when compared to other first world countries, but WHY IS THIS? The war on drugs has undoubtedly been the longest war in our nation’s history! Does it sound to you like this war is having any real impact?

Is there something much deeper behind the reason all drug information is kept hidden from us?

Now I’m not here to point fingers, but it is clear as day that drugs are regulated by only the most powerful corporations and drug lords in the world. For the sake of this article I will leave the topic of imported drugs for a follow up article. The point still stands however that the majority of problems that stem from drug abuse start right here in our own country!

As many drug awareness campaigns have shown, it is the availability of drug education that helps the most in areas where drugs prove very troublesome. One recent campaign that has proven successful uses strategically placed billboard ads showing firsthand the side effects of the most dangerous drugs. A similar approach is used in anti-smoking commercials, but in reality these approaches are not working as effectively as we would like. So let’s think about this now, what is something that we can do to really lower the amount of drug related crime, illness, and death? The answer is simple, we must EDUCATE THE PUBLIC!

Due to the fact that there is such limited RELIABLE drug information available, many people experiment with drugs in order to find out if they’d like them or not. It also true that you must first hear about a drug before you can be interested in trying it. This is a BIG reason why so many people would rather not even bring up the topic of drugs in the first place, but we cannot just keep sweeping the reality of drugs under the rug forever. THAT IS NOT A SOLUTION!

Who are we really helping by not creating awareness for these problems? The drug dealers and pharmaceutical companies, that’s who!

The majority of the time these drugs are purchased from street dealers who will only provide positive feedback when asked by a potential customer (such as your son or daughter). With that being the only source of information accessible by the potential consumer, many make an uneducated decision to further experiment with drugs, and eventually cause harm to themselves. In some cases these drug experiments become so dangerous that people not only harm themselves, but also harm the people that surround them!

All of the countries that have recently moved towards liberal drug laws such as providing drug information and free rehabilitation for its citizens have seen a DRASTIC drop in drug related crimes, AND deaths! This is no coincidence! We are not the type of country that ignores problems when they come knocking at our door, so why treat this any different? Are you okay with your kids being influenced about drugs only through their friends and the drug dealers?

It would be best if everybody could just see drugs as medicine, but there will always be people that will try them recreationally. If these people could research the harm relating to use and safe dosages first, then many of them wouldn’t even fall into the cycle of drug abuse. People paint marijuana as the biggest gateway drug, when alcohol is in fact a much more serious gateway! Drugs are a gateway to harmful behavior that wouldn’t otherwise exist if people were already educated on the effects of drugs and alcohol!

We must take the time to educate our youth before our very own children fall victim. If the government won’t ensure our children can get this information provided in schools, then we must take initiative ourselves to teach the youth about the harm relating to drug abuse.

Written by Ryan Radwan