Are Drugs Bad?

Here’s a scary topic: All the press about your favorite athlete on drugs doesn’t compare to the drugs used by the average family. In a recent article called “The Real Dope” in Sports Illustrated showed that athletes are just the tip of the iceberg. People are botoxing their faces, surgically altering our faces, noses, buttocks and breasts. There’s a little pill (of course you should ask your doctor if it’s right for you) to do anything you want. There’s an even pill to take to make sure you’re ready when the “right time” presents itself, which evidently is in an abandoned bathtub in the country while hiking.

The real scare is that kids have learned that drugs cure problems. To hit a baseball, run faster, fix acne, fix “imperfections” with their body, and of course to feel good requires a drug. What’s the difference between a drug that makes you feel good when you’re depressed (prescription) versus a drug that makes you feel good when you’re depressed (from the local high school junkie)? To some kids, the answer is nothing.

Consider the following concerns from the Sports Illustrated article:

Roger Clemens, Barry Bonds. Our heroes, utilizing illegal drugs. If a high school drug dealer was caught selling to the local high school baseball teams, wouldn’t the police attack the dealer like a pit bull?

Timbaland, Jay-Z, Mary J. Blige and 50 cent (that’s a guy evidently) from the rap industry all have taken drugs to beef up. These are the people that our kids idolize. Who do they idolize? Dudes on steroids. Ironically, 50 cent was a drug dealer prior to being a rapper and now has his own flavor of Vitamin Water.

Sylvester Stallone was caught with 48 vials of drugs to beef up for his latest movie. Holly cow! Imagine if we knew that Rocky Balboa beat Apollo Creed and cheated. Would you have been walking out of the theatre in 1976 throwing punches?

Muhammad Ali used hormones to shed weight prior to a fight.

Twenty seven New York Police officers were found to be on steroids. The consensus comment as to why was “how do I deal with people who are in better shape than me and want to kill me?” Heck, I don’t blame them. If criminals have bigger muscles, bigger guns, and are snorting or shooting up hard core drugs, I’d be scared too.

Some studies have shown that the majority of kids use drugs to enhance their looks. Many don’t see the difference between taking a drug in lose fat or gain muscle and putting on make-up.

Many teens say steroids and human growth hormone (the two most common drugs in sports) are as easy to get as pot.

The internet is a major source of drugs as well as the parents’ drug cabinets.

Who is our governor? He was using drugs to build muscle prior to it being against the rules to use.

Parents are using drugs to alter how they look, how they feel, and see drugs as a way to solve problems. In early childhood, we are taught to take a pill if we don’t feel good. The line between medication and illegal drugs is blurred. It’s the concept that drugs solve problems that leads to the use of drugs in an illegal manner.

Summary Comments

That’s a pretty awesome list from this article. My impressions were that as my own children grow up I fear what they might be exposed to. I hope they make good choices. This article only touched the surface of drugs in general because its main focus was on testosterone and human growth hormone. The bigger question is that what about meth, coke, or heroine? Just as a prescription drug can make us feel better, so can illegal drugs. Children have a hard time understanding where the line must be drawn because to them the adults sound like hypocrites. If an adult takes a drug to solve an emotional problem, then why is an illegal drug that solves their emotional problem so bad?

Years ago a young patient made a comment that stood out in my mind. He was taking medication to improve his academic performance. He was also an athlete and was not taking any illegal drugs for his sports. He said, “it’s not fair. I can take a pill to improve my grades, but I can’t take a pill to improve in sports.” He saw right through the adults.