Drugs myths

You can start, but you cannot stop

This is one of the most spread myths in the society. Eventually, the harm of this myth is huge, because it can be an excuse for the users and their relatives to continue using, as well as a stigma over the users that they will be addicted forever. The facts show that the therapeutic programs help over 60% of the participants to quit forever.

It’s enough to try 2 –3 times and you are addicted

It's not necessary to become addicted if you experiment with drug substances and take several times episodically. Usually becoming addicted depends on the use lenght. Some substances cause faster addiction than others.

Everybody, who uses drugs, is a criminal

It’s true that part of the crimes is aiming to provide means for drugs. The facts show that most of the people who use drugs would never do a crime just to assure their dose. It’s more probable that criminals begin to use drugs than that the users become criminals.

Hard drugs are dangerous, soft drugs not

The division of the drugs into soft and hard is conditional and is not accepted almost nowhere in the world. The fact that some drugs cause less effects than others doesn’t make them harmless at all. Use of whatever drug has risks and consequences.

Marihuana /grass/ is legal in some European countries

The marihuana is not legal in any country, including Holland. The possession of marihuana is decriminalized in most of the countries. The Netherlands is the only country where the absolutely controlled sale of small quantities of marihuana is decriminalized, but it is still not legal.

Marihuana is harmless

Use of marihuana concerns the ability to remember and the receptivity. There is a difference in the brain chemistry of the young people and the adults. It’s proven that the harm of marihuana is bigger for the adolescents. The everyday use leads to increased frequency of psychosis in late age. For those who have a family predisposition to schizophrenia marihuana could be a trigger.

Marihuana doesn’t lead to addiction

There is an addiction to marihuana. Proof for this are the discovered in 2001 canabinoid receptors in the human brain.

Smoking of marijuana leads to use of other drugs

This message is very dangerous, because it could lead to an attitude amongst the young people that it’s normal after smoking marijuana to start with something more serious. This is not true. According to the worldwide specialists, dependence between marijuana and the other drugs doesn’t exist.

The addicted people are lazy, push over and weak

The truth is that different and many people try different drugs, but just a small part of them become addicted. There are many different reasons for this, but the laziness and the lack of strong will and character are not amongst them. Living with addiction needs creativity, a lot of will and energy, even though they are pointed to a non constructive direction.

You have to try everything until you are young

It's not obligatory to have drug experience until you are young. This experience doesn't make you more mature. The adolescents are prone to be impressed, to overestimate what is happening, and to take it as the most important thing in their life. That's because they have not lived long enough to experience more and different exciting things.

Everybody, who uses heroin or cocaine, is addicted

Definitely not everybody, who uses heroine or cocaine, will develop an addiction. Most of the people, after using a different period of time, could stop, whenever they decide. For those who develop an addiction, the stopping needs a treatment.

The club and party drugs are not so dangerous and are predictable

This kind of drugs are stimulants and are used mostly in night clubs and different in and outdoor parties.  They are dangerous because of the effects, that they cause: increase of the blood pressure, stimulation of the brain tissues and structures, overexcitement, decrease of the fatigue and appetite. At this kind of places usually a lot of alcohol is sold and used. The combination of alcohol and other substances is very dangerous and could bring not foreseen consequences.

The dealers are guilty that the young people try drugs

This is not true. The truth is that the young people usually try drugs under the influence of their environment. In most of the cases, somebody or few people of the company take certain drug, and the rest of them try in order to be a part of the group or just out of curiosity.

All the drugs have the same potential to cause addiction

This concept is not true. Different drugs have different ability to influence the brain centers of pleasure. Besides, every person has a different sensibility to the substances. So the potential is different.

The addiction is a problem of the will

It’s proven that when there is an addiction, the behavior that supports the use remains out of the control of the consciousness. In fact, the drug takes control over the behavior. That’s why the idea that the will is the main factor for stopping  the drug is not true.

The drug addicts should be punished

In the whole world the addiction is classified as a disease. Besides, it is proven that drug addicted people have a brain dysfunction, which leads to a breach of the control over the use. That’s why the drug addicts shouldn’t be punished, but should be treated.

The drug addicts can’t be treated with medicaments

This is not true. The first step in the treatment is to stop the use of the substance. Stopping leads to abstinence. This can be a very hard period, because the person experiences a lot of pain. This stage of treatment is supported by medicaments, which reduce the pain and make the period more bearable. Besides, there are medicaments, which block the pleasure of the substances and make their use meaningless. They are very valuable in the supporting treatment.

If we give the children all the important facts about the drugs, they are preserved from the drugs

Unfortunately this is not enough. The young people need objective and full information about what is moving them. They should be informed about the substances as well as about all the risks and consequences of their use. But we should be careful not to awake their curiosity and push them into experiments.

If we frighten the children and forbid them to use, they are prevented from drug use

This is not the best position. Often with the young people the defenses have the opposite effect and could only provoke interest. Besides, many young people share the conviction that some drugs, for example marijuana, are harmless. A lot better work would do an open talk and a good relationship with the youth.

The drug use is typical only for certain groups of people

This concept is old. Many years ago it was true for Bulgaria, but now there are drug users in every social and ethnic group.

The addiction is a problem only of the users and they should fight it by themselves

Widespread understanding in the society is that whoever has a problem, he/ she should solve it. Often even the relatives of the addicted people say: “My kid has a problem. He/she should solve it”. The truth is that in most of the cases the addiction is connected not only to the user, but to the people around him, and to be cured, he/she needs the active support of his/her environment.

The users take drugs just to have fun

Actually, this is the case in the beginning of the use, but when the person becomes addicted, the things change. After a few time the needed quantity of the substance to achieve the same effect increases, and the person cannot always afford the desired dose. Then the abstinent symptoms (nausea, discomfort, aches) arise and the everyday use becomes a nightmare.

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