It’s all too easy to point to a substance and say, “that’s evil” or “that’s the problem with things in my life.” I’ve written about heroin and its relationship with actual evil. Although I do think the conditions associated with heroin use coupled with heroin’s physical affect can lead to evil, I don’t think heroin in and of itself is evil. Really, I don’t think any substance is evil in and of itself; it’s the substance’s use that provides its subjective and contextual meaning. That is, any given substance isn’t either good or bad, but if someone abuses the substance, then it could lead to unhealthy outcome for that person.
A big problem that I have with the “war on drugs” is that it vilifies substances and criminalizes their use. However, the war on drugs really hasn’t done much to neutralize substance abuse. From a treatment perspective, I believe this failure is at least partly due to a misunderstanding of the systemic and layered domain substance abuse presents. There are sociocultural factors, pscyho-emotional factors, physical factors, and spiritual factors all working in concert to create the perfect storm of conditions within which substance abuse develops.
What’s more is that every person is different, which means each case of substance abuse is different. The substance at the heart of the abuse gets a lot of attention and focus, but focusing on the substance is the absolute biggest mistake in attempting to treat a substance abuse problem. The myriad factors must all be addressed in order aid in developing recovery; focusing on the substance of abuse is a distraction that can misdirect treatment efforts.
We have to stop pointing fingers at substances, whether the substance is marijuana, opiates, or beer. We need to build a more socially just world in which we all share the load, equally. Part of Social Justice is recognizing that people have the capability of living through the best within themselves, if only they have the opportunity.
We all have to take responsibility for all of the relationships in our lives, including relationships with substances. But as long as government officials think they know what’s best for the governed, the governed will never develop that sense of responsibility needed to form healthy relationships. The Sugary Beverage ordinance is nothing more than a moralizing wolf dressed in PreK sheep’s wool that does nothing more than vilify yet another substance.
