Recently I attended a conference for Executive Directors and Drug Educators for Programs World Wide. First I was astonished at the number of non-traditional programs that are available outside the United States. These programs are also available in the US and honestly, it’s the modality of rehabilitation that worked for me. Thank goodness, as now I am an Intervention Specialist and these are my program of choice because they work. After many failed attempts at sobriety, finding a real solution is the key to success in intervention and rehabilitation.
Second, I was impressed by the diverse group of people running these organizations. Former drug addicted men and women, now clean and sober, saving people’s lives, all over the world. It’s a beautiful thing. Who would believe that these people in particular would have the ability to run huge facilities after suffering for years from addiction. I believe the smartest people I know are sometimes former drug addicts and I am astounded by this. I know because I see them in action everyday, producing, happy, healthy people, working together with others like themselves for the sole purpose of saving just one addict at a time.
I attended the conference along with my very best friend who heads up the marketing department for the facility I attended. He is a former addict, now married with 4 beautiful kids who are as close to my heart as my own. His youngest boy is a “skater”. That is a beautiful culture of kids who can do amazing things on skateboards. We went on a excursion looking for a skateboard from California. He is 10, and skating, along with school is his life so finding a “cool” board was of the utmost importance. We walked into an O’neil skate shop in Santa Cruz to look at blank boards (skateboards without wheels). While in the shop we saw beautiful boards, ones with very cool colors and graphic designs. I was instructed to help in the choosing and my eye was drawn to a beautiful blue board with amazing graphics and shading in various blues, I’m telling you it was incredible. I pulled the board from the wall to see the whole design and what do I see on the skateboard I want to buy for a 10 year old boy? Across the bottom in huge letters were the words “HEROIN”!!! I almost dropped the skateboard! I could not believe that any company on this planet would think it’s ok to make a skateboard for kids or adults that advertises heroin, brand name or not. Imagine a 10 year old thinking that the colors were cool and having their own money to purchase a board and coming home with it. I cant. As a parent, I would have a stroke! And of course the board would be returned immediately.
Marketing today is so geared towards kids it’s frightening. I am an intervention specialist because I try to save kids and adults from the grips of heroin addiction. It is one of the most debilitating addictions there is, next to alcohol and benzo’s (xanax, valium and klonopine). So if your asking yourself why do kids start to do drugs at an early age the answer is simple. They think its cool. Granted the skateboard was very cool to look at if you can keep from getting sick from the message it portrays to our kids.
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