Response to Ann Landers’ article about our country’s drug problem

This is my response to Ann Landers regarding our country’s drug problem.

Dear Ann Landers:

I am writing in response to comments on illegal drug use which appeared in your column supporting the notion that: “Long term prevention, education and treatment programs are the way to combat our drug problem in this country” and “…we need to help our kids resist the temptation of these deadly substances.” I disagree that these ideas can ever work.

We advertise the use of certain drugs, called medication, and then simultaneously advertise the slogan, “Just say no to drugs.” This is a mixed message and why I believe all drug education programs have either failed or are destined to fail! We push deadly over-the-counter and prescription drugs to every age group in our nation primarily to help them feel better or to help them cope. This is the same reason that our children utilize illegal drugs. It is this reason I believe that studies show illegal drug use is on the rise, and published pharmaceutical records report that legal drug sales are also on the rise.

Having given this matter a great deal of thought, I see the source of the problem in our habit of judging how healthy we are by how “good” we “feel.” We mistakenly believe that should the drug make us feel how we either want to feel or have been trained to believe we should feel, we are healthy. This misconception rationalizes and even encourages drug use, whether legal or otherwise. This false premise fails to acknowledge the body’s inherent ability to strive for balance.

I agree that education is a must, however it is false to teach our children that if a drug is FDA approved and medically prescribed it is good. All drugs alter body chemistry, alter performance, and alter perception of reality. Both legal and illegal, no exceptions! The manufacturers of legal drugs downplay the dangerous effect of every drug by calling them ’side effects’.

Whether a drug is prescribed or not, recommended or not, the facts verify that we have institutionalized drug dependency as an acceptable way of life. We refuse to take responsibility for why our kids can’t say no to drugs. Drug free America has unfortunately become an oxymoron.