Drugs, alcohol and guns are talked about daily in the media and they are closely related.
Many front-page issues or breaking news stories lead with the topics.
As I see it, the problems I mention are the result of changing the way we live. There is the lack of responsibility, often beginning in our homes. Many of us have strong prescription drugs we need to take for health reasons. We store them in a medicine cabinet or on a shelf in a cupboard. We do not accept responsibility for them and fail to keep track of them.
Are the potentially harmful medications secured? When we no longer take them, but some are left, do we properly dispose of them?
Perhaps they get pushed to the back of the cabinet because we think we may have a use for them at a future time. It's certain we would not make note of how many pills are left when we throw the bottle out at a later time.
Most parents are in denial when it comes to their youngster's possible interest in drugs, thinking, "My son or daughter would not be involved with drugs."
Young people are curious but they are fearful of illegal drugs that are often offered to them. When a pill party invite is made they may consider it to be harmless. They have heard about pill parties and how everyone brings a bottle, or loose pills they found at home. The pills are crushed and capsules emptied into a bowl, mixed up and added to a liquid that everyone tries. Ways to watch for and obtain pills from their home are suggested. Wait to see that prescription pills are no longer being taken, then look for any that may be left.
Parental responsibility goes beyond trust, you need to safeguard your children by disposing of unused drugs or locking them up. In Huron County, the sheriff's office lets you turn in unwanted prescription medications to them.
Contact them for more information.
The same responsibility to safeguard applies to alcohol use by young people. I've known parents who allow their children to join them for a drink. When I question them they say, "It's alright in my home, I don't allow them to drink anywhere else."
They also say, "I would rather introduce them to alcohol at home than have them try it at a friend's house or at a party." My thoughts are: If parents drink with their kids, the youngsters may think it must be OK to drink. They also may want to try something else that they are not offered at home, like marijuana, believing it will make them feel even better than the alcohol. Their friends do it and they are OK, so it must be safe. That old adage is thrown at them, "Everyone does it."
The next step may be mixing the joints and the alcohol or stepping into one of those pill parties. They may even be offered a greater high by sitting in on a pass-the-pipe opportunity. First-time users have been known to become addicted to crack cocaine -- that is how powerful it is.
I'm sure you may be thinking, "How does he know about drugs?" At one time in my police career, I worked undercover with a narcotics team. The experience taught me a lot, along with the college classes I took to better understand the phycology of the use and effects of drugs and alcohol.
It's my firm belief the proliferation of gun violence, especially by young people, can be traced to their experience with drugs and alcohol.
The best way to stem the flow of violence is to suppress the source, irresponsibility.