Santa Barbara

Archive for February, 2011

So many of the questions we receive on a daily basis center around the choices that people make in their lives. They “choose” to drink, or use an illegal drug, or abuse prescription medication. Family members want to know why they do this, or they ask for some insight into the reasons why their loved one’s personality has changed so dramatically. Sometimes the actions of the addicted person are so ridiculous that one can only conclude that the disease has completely taken over.

For example, a Wisconsin woman was convicted recently of her eighth drunken driving violation. The 58 year-old showed up at her sentencing hearing…drunk. She was given an 18-month prison sentence with five years of extended supervision.

She was then taken to jail, where she was given a breath test, producing a blood alcohol concentration of.196 percent, or about two and a half times the legal limit. Prior to the sentencing hearing she was out on a signature bond, told that she was not allowed to drink. She claimed she didn’t know that.

The trip to prison is not her first. About eight years ago she spend 13 months behind bars for the same offense. To her credit, she had not had any run-ins with the law since getting out, until she was picked up recently for her eighth offense.

This case is all about what to do with an alcoholic who chooses to drive. Do you throw them in jail, lock the door and throw away the key? As much as an eight-time loser might be shocking to some, the real number that is of interest is how many people drink and drive every day and get away with it?

While there is a punitive element to this woman’s case, the 18th months she is locked up should be used for treatment. You can lock her up for twice that length of time, but she will still come out of prison a “dry drunk” and she’ll probably go right back to drinking. If the prison time could be used for teaching and restructuring her lifestyle choices, she might have a chance to live a reasonable life.

Call it preventative care. If a person goes through eight trials, eight convictions and a couple of prison sentences, chances are better than good that the cost of all of that is far greater than the cost of one robust treatment program. The prison system in Wisconsin, as in other parts of the country, is overcrowded with non-violent offenders. DUI, drug possession or similar offenses present opportunities for the prison system to offer treatment and avoid repeat offenses.

I once overheard a conversation between two women. They were talking about their boyfriends, both of whom had multiple run-ins with the law for possession. Both had spent time in prison. Both were unemployed and had been for a long time. The women were lamenting the fact that their boyfriends were using the prison system for subsistence.

One told the other, “He wants to go to jail because they support him. That’s his job. He gets out and all he does is do drugs and get arrested again.” The other woman wasn’t at all shocked by the statement. She replied, “At least he doesn’t overdose in there, or get sick. My guy does more than he sells, so he doesn’t make any money. Jail is better for him.” Neither of the men had received any treatment. They go to prison for a short period of time, get released early and re-offend.

Treatment is much less expensive than feeding, housing and paying medical bills. The woman with her eight convictions is a drain on the state, with a disease that perpetuates bad decisions. She does have a choice at some level, but the disease has progressed to the point where it makes the choices.

The choices made are bad ones, but without any positive influence to break the cycle of addiction, her ability to choose anything but the wrong direction is cast. She has been sentenced to 18 months, she’ll get out again, but what real choices will she have? The disease will still be with her. And so it continues.

Just one of the many disadvantages that poverty brings to children living in the slums in the Philippines is their poor health. While statistics from various government agencies in the Philippines as well as from international organizations like the UNICEF will tell you that infant and child mortality has decreased in the last ten years in the Philippines, health nonetheless is still a major concern, especially when it comes to children living in the slums.

It is not surprising that poor health is a direct consequence of poverty in the Philippines. For one, poverty prevents a child from getting the nutrition that he or she needs, and it is a problem that often starts right from when he or she was still inside his or her mother’s womb. We all know the direct relationship of the mother’s health to the health of the fetus she carries. If she does not get proper nutrition, naturally she will not give birth to a healthy baby.

Most of the time, nutrition is not that high of a concern for most families living below the poverty line. As long as there is something to eat, something that will quell the rumbling of the stomach even if it is just rice, that is enough, no matter if the food lacks the proper nutritional value.

Lack of nutrition makes a child’s body weak. A child living in the slums is vulnerable to various illnesses simply because of where he or she lives. Slums in the Philippines are beset with overcrowding and lack of sanitation. Many slum areas are located near polluted canals and waterways. Many are also situated near landfills and dump sites. In such conditions, can you seriously expect a child who is already weakened by poor nutrition to not succumb to illness borne by his or her environment? Outbreaks of diarrhea are common in the slums, not to mention dengue epidemics, among others. Children often fall victims to these diseases.

The hardest thing about the health problems besetting the Filipino child in the slums is that if they do fall ill, they would not have easy access to proper medicine and health care. There are community health centers and public hospitals in the Philippines, but they are grossly understaffed and overcrowded. The better hospitals, on the other hand, are far too expensive for them.

Health problems are just one of the realities that children living in the slums of the Philippines have to face. It is a constant threat that they have to live with all the time.

Let’s face it, people smoke marijuana because it feels good and often because they think it is not a big problem like other harder drugs. Humans are creatures of pleasure and if it did not feel good we would not do it. However there comes a time when the no matter how good it feels it seems like we come back to weed out of habit, it has become the norm and ingrained in our lives so tightly that when we think on how to stop marijuana addiction it up feels painful and negative.

As was mentioned however we seek pleasure and we seek activities and moments that feel good and positive. This means that the negative aspects of quitting something that used to feel so good and are now comfortable and a part of our lives can seriously hamper your attempts to give up on the drug. There feels like there is no reward and only pain when giving up an addiction and a psychological addiction like pot is driven by the reward of the high. So to really be able to quit smoking marijuana you must find a way to be positive about the process and stay positive throughout the period no matter what happens!

It may be easy to start being positive and it is a good first step. You must first realize what benefits quitting will have from better health, more time, more money to spend and the feeling that you control your own life instead of it being dominated by a substance. The boost in self esteem you will get by quitting can be amazing and all the other benefits can seem obvious and this is what drives many to start on the path to being free of the drugs.

It is only later it can really get hard to remain focused as you feel unrewarded and are dying to get high again. While it may sound trite to say remain positive it must be said but here are some tips to help you stay up and remain on track.

Write down positive notes Remember all those good things you thought would be yours after you were clean? By now they might be a bit dimmed but it does not mean they are not real achievable targets. Write down all the positive things that will come at the end of your journey and keep them in sight somewhere you will continually view them. While you are at it write down every positive thing that happens because you are not smoking. Build on your success Focus on your victories and successes rather than any failures of weaknesses you may have during this period. While it will not change reality like some proponents of positive thinking will have you believe it keeps you from falling into negative thoughts which then lead you to seek short term relief such as drugs. By staying positives however you will avoid this trap and give yourself a better chance at quitting.

Staying positive is the key for how to stop marijuana addiction or any addiction for that matter and will help you in all parts of your life. I hope these tips can help you on your effort to quit.