Monday, October 22, 2007

The Drug Menace!

I met a relative of mine a few days back and I must say I'm pretty proud of him. He's now working and doing pretty okay for himself. What's the big deal about that you might ask. Well, up to about 3 years ago, this relative of mine was a drug user and totally heading for the very pits of hell. He is a whole ten years younger than me and he was about 15 years old when he first delved and got himself deeply entangled in the world of drugs. It was really a sad day when we all discovered that he was involved with drugs.

When I was ten years old this guy just came into the world as a tiny little adorable baby. He stayed with us under the same roof while he was growing up. He was a nice but pampered little fellow (just like me ... LOL!), was pretty brilliant with his studies (unlike me). He used to get all A's in his exams. Eventually though, he and his family moved away a couple of years later when he was in primary school to stay on their own in another town, not really too far away from us. That's when the trouble started!

He started getting lax in his studies, mixed around with undesirables and started being very disrespectful to his parents. They had a hard time keeping him in checked, his grades started slipping real bad and he even began skipping school. When he was in secondary school, his parents decided to send him to study with an aunt of mine to keep him away from the bad hats he's been hanging around with. We all thought that would put a stop to his bad habits but that was far from the truth.

He got around to mixing with an even worse bunch of crowd here and that's where he got involved in drugs and almost ruined his entire life. As a family, we all rallied trying to get him out of it, but with mixed results. He was hauled up by the Police a few times and every time the family somehow managed to keep him from going to prison and even sent him to a drug rehabilitation centre which he eventually ran away from. We all got fed up with him and when he was caught once again by the Police, this time no one made any effort to help him. Prison was way much better for him, at least this time he couldn't run away and maybe when he eventually come out, he would be a better person. We didn't hold our breaths though.

To cut a really long story short, he did come out, and he did kick his habit, got married, even had a kid and now has a decent job. We're all pretty happy for him, though we weren't really sure he could pull it off. I'm hoping he will stay that way. And if you ever do get around to reading this blog dude, let me say that I'm proud of you.

Drugs just don't cut it folks. I've seen first hand how it can ruin your life. The pain and heartache it can cause the parents, the people around you, the people who love you. I've heard too many excuses from people dabbling in drugs ...

'too stressed out, just wanna try it, got too many problems, need an escape, etc, etc, etc ...'


But there is always another way out of these problems. What do you really get out of drugs? A couple of hours of ecstasy? Then what? Live in a world of illusion? I don't think so! I know I'm gonna be keeping a real close eye on the kind of company my kids mix around with. Not in a million years am I ever going to let them ruin their lives because of drugs. As cheesy as this may sound but ...

'Say NO to drugs!!!'
.

38 comments:

  1. Nick, kudos to your relative. I hope he is proud of himself for getting clean. Your family should be very proud of him, like you are!!

    Oh and it is not cheesy to say
    "Say No to Drugs"

    BTW, great post

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  2. yeah, it might be old but it's real true, always say no to drugs. :D yeah your relative is a real brave one, i must say! at least he walked out of that hell that he once fell into, and now he is living life. :) drugs can really kill a person, never even touch them.

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  3. once in my life, i lived as a hobo, i left a decent job because i got hooked to gambling and i wanted to give myself a lesson, as a hobo, i met a scavenger who helped me in someway and pulled my leg on the other side, he taught me how to use poor man's cocaine coz he thought that would shut down my curiosity, i used it twice and when i felt he wanted to really hook me to the drug, i had to leave

    i never got addicted to drugs again, i got addicted to gambling just recently and i am proud to say that it's been more than 4 months since i went to casino...

    i'm happy for your relative and i hope he never gets hooked again...

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  4. I have a family member who has finally (we hope) found sobriety but it has been a long and difficult journey.

    I'm always happy to hear about those that do turn their lives around and I hope his life continues to move in such a positive direction. For all of your sakes.

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  5. Diamond, the whole family is proud of him. It was a harrowing experience but we're all glad he's over it now.

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  6. Conan, it wasn't easy for5 him to walk out of it. He had too many influences around that were bad for him. I guess he finally realized that it was time to clean up his act.

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  7. Lord Manila Stone, thank god you didn't addicted to it. And good for you on staying away from casino's for 4 months. Keep it up!

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  8. AB, we're all hoping that he moves in that positive direction too. at least he's begun to have his dreams and ambitions back again, that's a good positive sign wouldn't you say :)

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  9. Treasure our life and no drugs !

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  10. Dude! Happy to hear that he finally kicked the habit! Cheers for him...wait drinking is a problem too LOL

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  11. Here's to a drug-free life..

    Cheerio Nick
    LJ

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  12. I hear you man. Sure, in the past I've smoked a bit of weed and even once tried half an E but stayed far away from the other stuff. Just too mind boggling for me. I had friends who were on E, speed, cocaine and that kind of shit. As far as I know, all of them are clean now. Them crazy uni days eh?

    Some of the guys I knew in Australia were drug dealers. Of those guys, one guy's spent time in jail but cleaned up, one guy spent OD'ed and another guy killed himself. Wow huh? I also can never go back to Perth without suspicion falling on me that I'm carrying drugs. It's in the police files that I am a known acquaintance of a drug dealer. Regardless of the fact that I have never involved myself in the drugs trade.

    One the things a responsible parent must do is watch the kids quietly and know exactly who they're mixing with. We can't watch them forever so all we can do is hope that we will teach them well and from there hope they will make the proper choices in life.

    Whatever the reasons why people start taking drugs, it's almost always a downward spiral. It doesn't help that stupid bastard celebrities brag about their drug days like it's fashionable.

    Morons.

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  13. Glad your relative made it! I have relatives too who are drug users, they have been in and out the rehab but started using everytime they got out. I pity their kids.

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  14. Amen to this message, Nick! I've lost friends that I loved to drugs, watch families destroyed, and witness first-hand the devastation caused. The road back to straight living is hard, but doable - if you do it while you are still alive! I wish your relative a long and healthy life!

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  15. Just remember, the worst drug of all is alcohol. I read that to quit smoking cigarettes is much harder than quitting cocaine because cocaine is a psychological addiction and tobacco is physically addictive!

    I wish your relative the best and I hope he stays clean. I'm sure it's tough but hopefully he'll take care of himself.

    Thanks Nick!

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  16. Not corny at all... SAY NO to DRUGS! :):):)

    Genie Princess

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  17. Your are correct Bobby...my husband and I both smoke. He has a drinking problem as well. I have witnessed him not smoke for a week. As for the liquor..it lasts about 2 days.

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  18. Kee Yit, yes, I have to absolute agree with you on that one.

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  19. Adrian, yeah, I hope he's finally truly kicked the habit. With things like this, you just can't say.

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  20. Hui Sen, glad you didn't get involved in it at all. Good for you buddy. Yeah, drugs do nothing at all but the thing is I still read, hear and see loads of people still getting their lives screwed by it ...

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  21. Emila, It;s not an easy thing to kick, that's why I hope my relative is string enuf to resist the temptation in future ...

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  22. Josie, well, this is the longest he's been able to keep himself clean, I guess there might be hope for him and with his family's support, he just might be able to make it:)

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  23. Bobby, have to agree with you on that one ... I'm hoping he stays clean too.

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  24. Marzie, thanks for the vote of support! Drugs just ain't worth it!

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  25. Diamond, I don't know, sometimes I just believe that it's all in the way we live our lives, if we don't wanna do something we can but if we let it get the better of us, then there really is no hope. I agree with Bobby too ...

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  26. Drugs is really destructive. But in the end, no matter how we try to help a drug user, I guess it's up to the person if he really wants to give it up and choose the right path.
    I feel sorry (sometimes mad) for the drug user and I really detest those money-hungry drug pushers.

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  27. And I wish your relative all the best. I'm so happy he finally got over it and I hope he'd remain that way...

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  28. Shiera, you're absolutely right, it's all entirely up to them. If they don't want to change, then there really is no hope!

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  29. He's a smart guy to get himself out of this mess. I wish the others canbe as determined as him.

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  30. BT, I hope he's smart enough to really stay away form the stuff though.

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  31. I have to agree with you. Say no to drugs. I knew someone who eventually died from Drug OD! And she was a close personal friend too ... what a waste of a good life. Kudos to your relative.

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  32. Drugs!!! Aughh!!! The scrounge of all evil. Great post about your relative. I'm sure you're proud of him now, ya?

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  33. Anonymous, my sympathies to your friend. It's always a waste when it comes to drugs. Thanx for dropping by

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  34. Andy J, welcome to Anything Goes! The scrounge of all evil, The road to hell, the path of no return ...? yeah, that about sums it up! Yes, I am proud of him, hope he's tough enough to stick it out.

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  35. Drugs are the root of all evil!! (apart from credit cards lah. heheh) Glad he's back to pangkal jalan. :P You must be really proud of him, Nick.

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  36. Cindy, oh ya la, forgot about credit cards being a root of evil too ... LOL!

    I'm proud of him, just hope he can repay the faith we all have in him on being clean from now on.

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  37. Hi. nice blog.I do have plenty of family members with addictions, mainly alcohol. I try to deal with their attitude changes and give them advice when I see them sober if I do. It's hard especially when is someone close you love.please advice them to take a drug treament program.

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  38. Southcoast - Welcome to Anything Goes!

    I have to agree with you, it is especially hard when the person is closer to you. I'm just glad my cousin got out of it and is leading a better life these days.

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