Too much drugs will kill you

Another Filipina was executed in China for smuggling six kilograms of cocaine in 2011. She is the fifth to experience a tragic sentence.

On the other hand, seven police officers were dismissed from service for being positive of drug use. The Regional Appellate Board of the National Police Commission removed them from service for grave misconduct.

All these saddening stories happened because of drugs.

I do not know if there is one person to blame on the presence of illegal drugs in our society. As far as I could remember, they have been in existence even before the world war. Opium was used to prevent soldiers from feeling pain when they are critically hit in a battle. Accounts also tell us that our ancestors used to smoke herbs for pleasure. But that did not get them into any trouble.

The testimonies of drug dependents I have found on the internet speak of how relaxed they feel when taking drugs as if there is no problem in the world. They also feel that they have super strength which keeps them going in whatever they are into. There is also an illusion of being in heaven and the like. All these feel-good emotions were felt in exchange for a huge amount of money and the risk of being in prison.

Many lives have already been ruined because of the use of illegal drugs. In turn, they also hurt their immediate family and friends. Perhaps they have their own reasons why they were or are into it, but that doesn't give them an excuse to be ignorant of the law. Most especially for the policemen who vowed to serve and protect our country.

The primary duty of a policeman is to look after the welfare of the civilians and the society by enforcing all the laws of the land. But because of their abuse, they have played with the people's trust in them. They failed to live up to their oath.

As for the Filipina drug mule, reports could not really determine if she was taking the drugs herself. But she was still using drugs for her to earn money. She is just another victim of poverty, someone who though that there was no other way to provide for food on the table. Her resorting to a very risky job was the result of her financial problems.

The subject of drug use in our country is very complex and hard to stop. Some say that authorities are protecting the drug lords. Others say that the drug industry is too underground. But there is always a way to stop this societal problem.

I still remember a government campaign called Movement Against Drugs or MAD in the early 2000s. A MAD icon was placed in almost every car, lamppost and wall. There were also attempts to boost the sports program in some of the barangays in Cebu to divert the attention of the youth who are mostly the victims of illegal drugs.

Maybe we can replicate these programs again and enforce our laws stricter this time.

We cannot trace when the first marijuana was planted in the country or when shabu became such a big problem. But we can reflect on how these drugs destroyed lives and remembering these stories can help save a person's life by asking him or her to reflect and say no to illegal drugs.