Ignoring Ignorance
By: Tim Varner
Tags: Addiction, Medical, Recovery, Mental Health, World

Photo by Markus Winkler on Unsplash

With complete reservation on writing this article, I need it to be understood as always that these are my views and opinions. I worry about the sake of humanity as well as the rising numbers of street-fueled body counts. I have titled this piece “Ignoring Ignorance” to explain how the lack of understanding is killing the soberest of addicts.

Addiction has been around as long as substances have. If there is an addictive capability with anything, addicts have found it and exploited it beyond belief. From heroin to cell phones, internet shopping to sexual relations, humanity is fueled by our thirst for anything “feel-good.”

Facing the Bottle

When it comes to alcohol, obviously this is a never-ending battle. From entering convenience stores through visibly proof rated bottles to the requirement of passing the alcohol aisles to purchase milk for our infants. The presentation of this substance is obsessively displayed no matter where you go. As a recovering (and still struggling) alcoholic, I find it very inconvenient when I need to belly-up to a bar to purchase my to-go orders. I once used the method of ordering food ahead to limit my time spent in the establishment, thus decreasing my likelihood of consumption. But these days I find it required more and more having to face my demons solely to eat.

With the holidays, this is always a time of a recovering alcoholic’s disruption. With every advertisement portraying the joy of drinking with family and friends, the cravings are forced upon us as we simply try to enjoy television. From Christmas parties we are offered to attend, to family outings in a substance-driven atmosphere, we have a decision to make to cut ourselves off from the world or attempt what seems impossible. These decisions can pose as life-changing obstacles to further the desired recovery or crumble back into the black-pit of obscurity.

“Weeding” Out the Inevitable

With the controversial subject of marijuana, there will always be the pros and cons circling my head. My wife argues my pro-weed view stems from my addict-driven mentality but I do see the benefits in the legalization. This article however does not focus on the positives.

Being an addict for life, I struggle with the possibility of anything addictive being legal. With obvious consideration in alcohol, marijuana is a fence-post topic for my civilians. I do believe in the “gateway drugs” but I disagree with the fact the pot is one of them. My demise with marijuana is the fact that when I would get high, I always craved more. When one bowl stopped working and I began smoking more, transitioning to oils and continuing my mood-alteration.

When I would smoke, I found myself yearning for alcohol more. I needed the heightened loss of control thus forcing my black-out stages. The mixture of two chemicals is unparalleled when it comes to the desire for euphoria. I attempted to discontinue my use of alcohol and solely smoke marijuana. This attempt worked for a while but as I stated before, I began the desire for more and was reeled back into my drunken state.

A “gateway” drug can be hard to classify in my mind. Although the benefits are vast with marijuana, I believe it is with everything a fact of knowing limits. I agree with the prosecution of people driving under the influence, mainly in fact because I have so many times and I understand how threatening it can be to others, as well as yourself. With the medicinal views set aside, I do like that relaxation side of the “drug” especially these days when we all need to learn when to chill the hell out.

Enabling Continuance

One of the most dis-heartening subjects in recent news is the approval of legalized heroin. With states and countries passing laws to allow intravenous use under the care of medical professionals, I fear we are promoting the drug. Understandably, the use by an addict is safer under medical care, this is just encouraging the disease. When did medical care evolve from help to enablement?

With the newly presented, (but far from new) opioid-crisis, the attempts to lessen deaths are noble but misguided. I believe for this to work there will need to be air-tight requirements for such a procedure. If you can walk into a clinic, shoot dope, not die and go home, where is the lesson? If a person is truly attempting to get clean, these methods need to become strict and monitored by well-trained and devoted professionals.

Through my recovery groups, I have witnessed many entering the group simply to obtain a prescription for Suboxone, which is as close to heroin as you can get. I have found institutions that will accept whatever story you feed them and provide you with the same day prescription. You can enter a facility, with no intention of getting clean, just a simple need to support your addiction, and people use it as a justification. “If a doctor gives it to me, then it’s OK.” This is not always the case. The same can be said for benzodiazepines, another legal prescription that can cause more harm than good.

Harming Humanity

I believe with the accessibility and presentation of addictive substances, the world is contributing to the downfall of humanity. In my opinion, the ones who are truly dedicated to recovery and sobriety are over-shadowed by the ones who are not. We can not be taken seriously in our ventures if we are allowed to be misrepresented by the disease. With the legalization of controlled substances, people can obtain their DOC with little to no effort.

If the laws were to be enforced by respectable professionals, a decrease in addiction may be possible. Ideas are great but rarely evolve into action. By supporting the disease without requisites, we are encouraging the spread of fatalities. Bodies are moving from the streets to the clinics, and that is viewed as a win.

No matter how hard people work to disrupt the flow of addiction, the world finds new ways to contribute to the disease. We justify decisions by lying to ourselves and provide a horrific tragedy to continue. If you wouldn’t hand a suicidal person a loaded gun, why give a junkie a needle? Why force alcoholics to retrieve food from a bar and spread a view for simple approval.