Pubdate: Tue, 01 Mar 2016
Source: Star, The (Malaysia)
Copyright: 2016 Star Publications (Malaysia) Bhd.
Contact:  http://www.thestar.com.my
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/922
Author: Mohamad 'Ariff Fahmi
Note: Pertubuhan Amal Perubatan Ibnu Sina Malaysia (Papisma)

DEALING WITH SUBSTANCE ABUSE

WE read with great concern a motion mooted in the Youth Parliament 
surrounding the decriminalisation of "ganja" usage. While we do 
believe there is a need for an enlightened discussion in the public 
domain regarding substance abuse and addiction, perhaps the idea of 
legalising or regulating marijuana in Malaysia, in the name of TPPA, 
is impulsive.

Instead we would like to invite the public to explore the concept of 
substance abuse and addiction in order to grasp the essence of the 
issue and take necessary precautions to address them.

We feel obliged to share an insightful presentation by Johann Hari, a 
British journalist whose TEDtalk in London in June last year was one 
of the most popular TEDTalks in 2015.

He started by reminding the audience that it was exactly a century 
ago that the United States and Britain declared a war on drugs. Yet, 
a few decades later, he recalled his childhood memory trying to wake 
up a relative who was found unconscious under the influence of 
illicit drugs, which apparently ran in his family.

He started to reflect on the basic questions surrounding drug abuse 
and addiction only to realise that maybe everything he ever 
understood about addiction prior to that was simply wrong.

Throughout his journey to unearth the mystery, he discovered that the 
underlying problem with addiction is connection. We identify 
ourselves as normal functioning human beings because we can connect 
ourselves to families, friends and colleagues by various means of 
communication.

These connections give meaning to life be it in the form of happiness 
or suffering. Thus, what drives addiction is when these connections 
are severed. Hari illustrated his encounter with Prof Bruce Alexander 
in Vancouver who conducted an interesting experiment on mice.

He simulated a theme park in the cage where mice could choose to 
either be on drugs or play. Remarkably with the "Rat Park", those 
mice went from "junkie" to 100% clean without an overdose once they 
were happy and connected to their surrounding.

This shows that our physical presence and emotional touch is stronger 
than any drug. It also explains why inpatients on prolonged drugs 
like painkillers do not leave the hospital becoming drug addicts in 
the community.

Our innate need to bond will naturally prevail and choose interaction 
with human beings over chemicals which only provide temporary relief 
accompanied by withdrawal symptoms and side effects.

Of course to be fair to the motion brought up at the Youth 
Parliament, Portugal is the role model where drugs are 
decriminalised; effectively lowering the crime rate, HIV and drug 
addiction cases.

In 2000, Portugal was facing an epidemic of addiction where one 
percent of the population were drug addicts. The government 
established a taskforce to look into the matter and took a bold step 
to reallocate a significant amount of funds and organised an 
initiative to help drug addicts reconnect with their family and 
friends. There was massive jobs creation for addicts and loans were 
provided for them to start small businesses.

So, this is not just about legalising marijuana to be on par with 
other TPPA nation, neither it is about building more hospitals or 
institutions to treat drug addicts. It is about building and 
maintaining the fabric of human connection. It is about sharing the 
responsibilities in a cohesive community to free drug addicts from 
stigmatisation, to allow them to reconnect with themselves and the 
surroundings.

To a certain extent, we are already witnessing the many faces of 
addiction ruining every walk of life. Hence, it is only appropriate 
to reiterate the crucial element that holds us together as a person, 
a family, a community and a nation. It is the connection. Connection 
with God and His creation. This is the first part, before we dare to 
speak about anything else beyond that.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom