Substance Abuse And Prevention Is A Hot Topic Today

Substance abuse and prevention is a really hot topic nowadays. I don't know why, but more and more people seem to be talking about substance abuse prevention. Looking at the amount of attention that is paid to drug and alcohol abuse, you would expect it to be sweeping the nation. In fact, it is not. Although substance abuse and prevention continues to be important, it is no more important than it was 10 years ago. The difference is that there is more media hype around it nowadays.

Some people would say that this is a good thing. After all, it is really important to keep kids away from the dangers of substance abuse. I have a 15 year old son myself, so I know what I'm talking about. I see him hanging out after school with friends who do not look very reputable. I can tell just by looking at them that they are the bad kids. I have no substance abuse and prevention training, so I did not know how to talk to him about drugs. Thankfully, however, there are commercials on the TV that tell me where I can find out information on drug abuse prevention.

Nonetheless, I think it is a mistake for us to get too riled up about substance abuse and prevention. Yes, drug addiction can be a real serious problem, and it can take a heavy toll on communities, but it is important to keep things in perspective. We see so much fear mongering in the media nowadays that we have a hard time keeping our priorities straight. Substance abuse and prevention is important, but it is not as important as, say, education. People think that we need to lock up all of the drug dealers, but what we really need to do is to give them viable alternatives to dealing drugs. This, to my mind, is the best kind of substance abuse and prevention policy.

The problem is that in politics, fear sells. We never have a good substance abuse and prevention policy, because our national drug policy is dominated by the debate over who can get toughest on crime. If one politician wants to increase incarceration rates for drug dealers and users while another does not, the tough on crime one will always be elected. Until we get past this primitive way of thinking about things, substance abuse and prevention will continue to be a problem in our society.