ON DOPE

May 28, 2013

Vagabond Journey No. 2003

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Better shun the bait than struggle in the snare.

(John Dryden)

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Hello Sandy

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For a year I lived across the street from a high school playground. I would sometimes see a man in a dark blue zippered jacket enter the playground and approach one of the boys who was obviously expecting him. They wouldn't look at each other but the boy reached behind him and dropped an envelope on the ground. Blue jacket would pick up the envelope, look inside, reach into his pocket, take out a plastic bag and drop it where the envelope had been. Then blue jacket would turn and leave and the boy picked up the bag. Any guesses as to what was in the bag?

When I was young teen I watched a documentary of a heroin addict who was coming off the dope unassisted. There were no medications to help withdrawel in those days. He was alone in a room under constant surveillance. The film, which spanned a few weeks, was over an hour long. The horror that poor man went through, which I won't describe, was a more articulate lesson, than anything I could imagine, to stay away from drugs.

I knew a young man, a good musician. He had his own band, and it was successful. One day he took too much cocaine and he died.

Over the past several months I've seen some documentaries about meth (Methamphetamine) addicts, in Europe, Asia and the United States. There are a very few people who can take such a drug and come out fine. But most of them are lost. And most of them are young. Their arms, legs, necks and gums are filled with injection wounds. Many of them got hooked because their parents gave it to them. Many of them have to steal or whore themselves to buy it. If they are on the street they have to go into alleys and behind buildings to cook the stuff so they don't get arrested. If they do they may get clean while they suffer in jail but when they get out they go right for it again. One addict said he has to have the meth just to feel "normal." Many of them admit that they began by smoking marijuana and went down from there. They never expected it to happen to them.

Legalizing drugs may take a huge chunk out of organized crime and smuggling, but what is it going to do for the determined addict, depressed, forlorn, wasted and lost. Besides meth you can make in your own kitchen. The ingredients are obtainable, all poisonous, and the recipe is on the Internet.

I don['t want to hear anything more from politicians about a high moral ground or from pastors saving people from sin. Our government needs to protect us from cyber attacks before our enemies get the technology to destroy us and society (pastors, teachers, doctors, parents, people who really care and don't just make talk and TV shows) needs to focus on why drugs are destroying the lives of so many young people.

Peace and power.

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Dana Bate

Vagabond Journeys

Never Give Up

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