WHAT ARE YOU DYING FOR?

Three drug related deaths in one week is three too many…

Last week we had a lot to be proud of. 467 people turned up to G-A-Y Bar to be tested for HIV on World AIDS Day. Hundreds gathered on Old Compton Street to ‘Swish’ along the gay runway in celebration of life and in memory of those we lost.

Thousands more gathered in the bars and clubs in the area and helped raise tens of thousands of pounds for charity. London’s gay community delivered a strong message to the world that we are alive and in love with life.

Last week we also had much to mourn. We at QX are aware that at least three people died from drug-related causes.

We hear the warnings all the time: ‘Drugs are illegal’, ‘drugs are bad’, ‘drugs are wrong’. But drugs alone do not wreck lives. People wreck lives. People get depressed and they turn to drugs, which in turn, destroys their lives.

People turn to alcohol or sex or violence to also mask unhappiness. Addiction is a strange beast that uses whatever stimulant is at hand to mask the mind’s distress. People do not, generally, become addicted to drugs because they are happy, well-adjusted people.

There is most times a trigger or a series of events that push their lives into such turmoil as to look for a high to ride out the lows.

But drug related deaths are not just relegated to those who suffer addiction issues. Being in this job means I’m all too often made aware of incidences related to what the police would classify as ‘death by misadventure’.

These are not people who are running away from problems, are generally unhappy or have addiction issues. These are regular people who are out, having a good time, then die.

Why? Well, we all know people take drugs. Fact. The Government in all its limited wisdom will continue its futile war on drugs at huge expense to tax payers and the police force’s time. However, people will now and forever continue to seek a rush.

Be it through alcohol, chocolate, cigarettes, computer games, sport, roller coasters, sex or shoving fat white lines up their nostrils. Some rushes are bad for your health, others not. The Government – Conservative, Liberal Democrat or Labour – will never hold a balanced look at the issue of drugs because it is at the mercy of Middle England’s voting power.

Because of this sad situation of political weakness, drugs are glamorised by their illegal nature. Now, let’s be realistic here. I am not going to pretend to be holier than thou. By the Goddess, there’s not a chance that I could. But what’s needed here is some perspective and understanding of the wider issues at hand.

We know that people who take recreational drugs are not simply junkies and criminals. Every weekend, hundreds of thousands, maybe even millions of people, take illegal substances in the UK.

They are shop workers, bus drivers, doctors, teachers, lawyers, politicians, cleaners and more. Every weekend the government’s current drug policy means all these people are immediately branded as criminals.

As such, drugs are glamorised by this fact, given a decadent allure because of their illegal nature. If you are taking drugs you are somewhat a rebel in the face of authority.

“If you are taking drugs, you best be aware why you are taking them, that you are not running away from your problems, or fears or insecurities.”

With that in mind, if the Government won’t engage in a frank dialogue about the issue for the good of millions of people, at what point do YOU relinquish responsibility for your actions, simply because what you are doing is illegal?

So, with that in mind, YOU need to start taking responsibility for your actions. And we all need to look out for each other in that respect. I have seen too many smart, intelligent, happy, beautiful people ruin their lives because of a total disrespect for drugs.

I have buried people I love who have ruined their lives with drugs. I have seen friends destroy their lives because the high was greater than the reality of the life that scared them.

Drugs are not toys. They are not iPhones. They are not Rihanna CDs. You don’t just buy them and ingest them as one does Haribo. If you are taking drugs, you best be aware why you are taking them, and that you are not running away from your problems, or fears or insecurities.

If you are, then you need to address those problems, because they won’t go away unless you confront them.

I am sure that there are some truly horrific cases where otherwise responsible people have died after taking a dodgy E, a shot of G too much, or mephedrone laced with rat poison or whatever they have manufactured in some skanky illegal lab.

But what causes most well-adjusted people to die from recreational drug use? Excess, and a total lack of respect for the dangers of recreational drugs.

If you are taking illegal drugs for kicks, do so with respect for the fact that what you are taking is not necessarily pure, clean and made with your best intentions at heart. You want to get high. A drug dealer wants to get rich.

Don’t be so reckless with what you throw up your nose or down your throat. Slow down and don’t be so greedy all the time. Know your mind, and why you are taking whatever high you crave.

You’ve been there, and I know I’ve been there. At what point do you decide to go home and leave the party? At what point are you not high enough that you have to have more… and more? At what point does a good time come at the sacrifice of your life?

Why are you dying to get high?

 

NEED HELP?

www.antidote-lgbt.comwww.clubdrugclinic.comwww.llgs.org.ukwww.talktofrank.com

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