Drugs

Over the weekend I read both an article about the widespread use of sleeping pills in this country, and a story about the widespread use of heartburn medications, and it triggered something that I've been thinking about for a long time. We spend unbelievable amounts of money on the war on drugs, but the reason it hasn't had any effect is that we've been going after dealers when the root of the problem is that Western civilization has an underlying mentality that pharmaceuticals are the answer to all our problems. Have a headache? We've got a pill for that. Can't sleep? We've got a pill for that. Can't get an erection? We've got a pill for that. Sad, too tired, too fat, can't stop smoking? We've got something for all those too.

When the answer to every ailment is some sort of medication, is it really any surprise that so many people self medicate to solve their problems? I'm not claiming to have any solutions. I don't think that holistic medicine, acupuncture, meditation, or any of the other alternatives currently available are necessarily the answer, but somewhere there is a common ground. One of the main reasons that health care has gotten almost prohibitively expensive is that it is entirely within the grasp of the pharmaceutical industry.

I don't know what can be done to break this mind set, but even as I'm writing this, I've seen in one commercial break, commercials for an energy drink, heartburn medication, and Gas X. We are constantly bombarded with it. It has gotten to the point that even the drinking water in most metropolitan areas is contaminated with a cocktail of antibiotics, mood enhancers, hormones, and who knows what else that couldn't be filtered out. It's kind of scary to imagine what the long term consequences are, both to humans as well as fish and wildlife.

I will admit to using my fair share of drugs. I can't start my day without coffee, and I will take advil from time to time. But I have made a conscious effort to cut back on everything. I will use ice packs or heat packs instead of pain killers, and have switched to half caf. Maybe one day I will live a chemical free existence, but for now the caffeine dependency is too hard to break. I really do love coffee. As far as society is concerned though, I don't see an end in sight. From birth, everyone is taught that the answers to all your problems are in a pill, a shot, an herb, etc. I don't know what can be done to break that trend. Even 'health food' shops are filled with nothing but pills and dietary supplements. I guess all I can really do is change my own lifestyle.