Readers responded to a recent Atlanta Forward Leadership blog where an Alpharetta mother asked the community to join her in helping young people steer clear of drug and alcohol abuse. Here’s a sampling of comments.
Morris Devereaux: Why do the responses focus on helping the addict, rather than demanding that personal responsibility for one's own actions is taken, and considering the impact on victims? Where is the restitution to these victims? Why is the entire discussion slanted as though drug addiction is like cancer, something anyone can come down with and no precautions are possible? Drug addiction comes from people choosing to take addictive drugs. It isn't an accident or random chance. It's a choice. And all the feel-good, warm mush in the world won't change that. You want to fix the problem? Start looking at reality.
Amanda: Addiction has been proven to have a genetic link. No one would choose to be an addict. Quite a large percentage of the population does not have an "off switch" to stop after one or two drinks or hits. It is hard to understand unless you are unlucky enough to have this predisposition. However, having the predisposition does not absolve the addicted individual from responsibility. In families that have a history of addiction, it is the parents' responsibility to abstain from all mind-altering substances as an example for their children. By abstaining, they set an example that life without mind-altering substances is possible and can be joyous. The main topic of the article was how to help our communities, and it starts at home with parents.
Daniel Allen: I find it so ironic the majority of people who have such strong opinions about drug addicts and drugs tend to come from a background so privileged, so sheltered and naive, that it puts them into this self-entitled know-it-all attitude that they know more about drugs and addiction than those actually involved. Those people have no reason to speak about drugs/addiction. Don't talk about something if you have no experience with it. Educated or not, until you've been there or someone close to you has, you have no idea what you're saying. Talk about fixing a problem? The problem is education. The problem is these areas flooded with drugs and crime. If the drugs weren't there in the first place, no one would have the choice to use them. However, if you have thrill-seeking behavior and what has been taught as the biggest thrill of all time is sold on every corner, well, I don't have to explain the obvious. As for Amanda: I hear you, I agree that alcohol has been a serious problem. However, being underage, heroin was easier to get in my hometown than liquor. I'm not bashing or insulting, I'm simply saying: Educate yourselves with real-life experiences, real people with real problems. You can't read a book about addiction or watch a movie, then give a lecture to someone who has been through it. They see right through it.
