Simple Drug Possession Still a Crime.

A couple of grams of hashish stuffed inside a matchbox - no problem, according to the individual who has the tiny matchbox in the front chest pocket of his checkered shirt. A small plastic bag meant to hold a sandwich, contains a handful of marijuana. Still, no problem, as argued by the young woman who brushes her hair one-hundred times and lays her hairbrush next to the plastic bag on her dresser.

Possession of these and other soft drugs is still a crime. But crime or not, the drugs are harmful and there are many many reasons not to use them.

In 1995 a household survey was conducted by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. It found that five in ten young adults (age 21 to 25) reported having tried hard-core drugs such as cocaine and that one in ten admitted they are current users. Most alarming was the finding that 5% of the population (as young as age 12) admitted they are users of marijuana.

The survey went further. It identified that education and employment were important factors in drug use. The highest rate of drug use, for example, was among high school dropouts while college graduates had the lowest rate of use. Drug use was also found to be three times higher among unemployed young adults as compared to those employed. As an end note, among youths, the rate of drug use was the same between white and African Americans.

A consensus (an agreement) exists among most doctors that regular and a long term use of marijuana and hashish interfere with the development of the brain and the body. All agree that the regular use of drugs alters the thinking and learning abilities in young and growing adults.

But there is help available. Individuals who are repeatedly arrested for possession of marijuana, and this is their only crime, may, instead of imprisonment, be forced to undergo treatment designed to enable the abuser to abstain from drug use.

The success of any treatment program depends on the individual. The young man with the hashish in the matchbox must take responsibility for having it, realize the harmful effects of using it and must want to stop abusing it. The young woman has to look deep inside herself and come to terms with her addiction. She has got to realize that inside of her exist the strength and power to overcome the influence that the drug has on her. Both need to know that there are many who will applaud their effects and are only too willing to help them along the way.