ADDICTION?
A newscast aired Monday night, April 21, 2003, on ABC called, "Help Me, I Can't Help Myself," with John Stossel. A campaign has been launched against the term addiction. Monday night topic was on Addictions: alcohol, drugs, tobacco, and obesity. It was stated that a person, whether genetically inclined to addiction of alcohol, drugs or food, was not an addict, but "their choice." What was the underlying reasoning for airing this message?
John Strossel (interviewer) and Dr. Jeffery Schaler (interviewee) had an hour to send out messages to the viewers that addiction is a choice. What do they really know about addiction and how it affects people differently? What do they know about social and cultural issues that effect people of color? What about people with mental disorder?
Dr Jeffery Schaler never touched those subjects and John Stossel never brought them up. They interviewed basically White Americans and maybe showed two African Americans on this film. When interviewing a group about nicotine, Dr. Schaler came in with a psychological speech saying to the group of smokers that smoking was a choice and the nicotine has nothing to do with it.
Dr. Schaler said, "people like to smoke, they like the activity, they like the ritual of smoke, they like the sensation of smoke. It has nothing to do with nicotine, it has to do with behavioral ceremony and ritual which is really what's important to a person." Now, I don't know where Dr. Schaler has been, but nicotine is the quickest addictive drug there is, and that is a known fact. Dr. Schaler went on to say that, "every time a person quit using cigarettes, they do it in the same way, they make a decision to quit."
For those in treatment for alcohol and drugs and other self-help groups the Twelve Step model is used to guide an addicted person toward freedom of abstinent. The Third step is "We made a decision to turn our will and life over to God as we understand Him." But according to the Twelve Step tradition there are two prior steps before getting to that step and one, is to admit that one is powerless over their addiction and their lives had become unmanageable; and second, is they came to believe that a power greater than themselves could restore them to sanity.
But, Dr. Schaler says addictions are not a disease and that "there are no such things as an addictive substance." If this is true I would like to know where I have been all my life, on Pluto? These are his words and he has a right to his views, which had made me wonder why did ABC air this nonsense.
This guy wants me to believe that it is as simply as making a quick decision to not use or eat. I work with addicts every day. Alcoholic Anonymous and Narcotic Anonymous have huge convention each year for people in recovery. These people come from all over the world to hear supportive messages of those who are continuing successful lives living with the disease of addictions that only go into remission and are not curable. Are these millions of people living a lie?
There are hundred of thousands men and women incarcerated in jails and prisons due to being addicted to substance or substances (poly-drug users). I would of love to interview this Dr. Schaler. He think people who are addicted to alcohol, cocaine, heroin, amphetamines, methamphetamines, etc, could just quit-just like that?
The fact is that an addicted person has gone through stage of use. From no use to experimental, to recreational, to habitual, to abuse, to addiction. Once that person crossed the invisible line from habitual use to abuse, they is no going back. There is no way out except through abstinence. Now, the Harm Reduction Community would differ, but the fact is they also moderate a person usage gearing that person toward no use.
A person body tolerance, physiological and psychological state changes when using a drug. A person behavior changes for the worst after long-term usage of the drug. Withdrawals, cravings and urges cause a person to become obsessive and compulsive (mental disorder) wanting the chemical to the point of not caring about the consequences.
Dr. Schaler says there is no such thing as an addiction and that a person simply has to make a choice. This is not true. There are people addicted to chemicals which led them to insane acts, insane behaviors, that they would not of done if they were sober. They did it for the chemical, may it be alcohol or drugs. A person on crack cocaine may have made decisions many times to quit. Throwing the crack pipe out of their window, to smashing it, only to find themselves buying or even making another pipe out of an car antennae, toilet tissue roll, beverage can, or a soda bottle in order to smoke their new bought crack after intense cravings and urges.
John Strossel went as far as to show pregnant women in Vermont who were paid to quit smoking. Using these White American women as examples to represent their findings that "people are not enslaved to a physiological or genetically based condition." Well, their researchers aren't in the low socio-economic poverty stricken, ghetto-based areas doing their studies, passing out monies and gifts to people of color for their experiment. They aren't doing the research with homeless women of color who are poly-drug users, addicted to nicotine, cocaine, heroin and alcohol with mental issues. So, how is it so simple?
John Strossel said that experts say, "Most people who conquer their addictions did it on their own." I don't know where the proof is for that but there are millions in Alcoholic Anonymous, Narcotic Anonymous, Self-Help Programs, and graduates from Residential treatment facilities which have been clean and sober for years will tell you that they did not do it alone, and there were steps they had to take to get to the point of life where they wanted to live.
There are just too many underlying reasons for addictions. Molestation, abandonment, rape, discrimination, racism, identity issues, illiteracy, victims of violent crimes, traumatic events, post traumatic stress disorder, bi-polar disorder, peer pressure, environmental, and the list goes on. To you they may sound like excuses, but to those living with these issues, a belief system grown inside to which self-defeating ideation talks in the back of their heads, which says "forget it," and they use and use and use. Some addicts have suicide ideations and some have homicide ideation. Some addicts steal, rob, manipulate, sell their bodies, and sell their children, just to get that chemical. Things they would not do sober.
ABC should have their people investigate issues before releasing tales to the public. Again, why would they want us to believe the myth? Because, many policy makers and voters would rather fill the jails and prisons than rehabilitation programs. These people are into making billions especially with private prisons. The trick is to get you to believe that there is no such thing as addictions. The trick is to get you to think investing in help is worthless and your tax money is being spent recklessly.
ABC is airing a campaign against treatment. ABC is co-signing the lie by airing it. ABC is getting us ready for higher incarceration rates and legal slavery with the message given in that newscast.
By the way on obesity, Dr. Schaler said, "you may process food differently because of your genes, it doesn't mean regardless of what they say that they can't control their behavior because people control their behavior all the time." In other words genes are not a factor. John Strossel went on to say to women who were overweight that, "you don't have to be fat." What was his hidden agenda?
People watch out in some cases the messenger and the message. Don't believe the hype without concrete proof. California rank third in incarcerated population of drug offenders. Some are chronic alcohol and/or drug addicts who don't know how to quit until they are taught to do so.
So, I say to ABC, John Strossel and Dr. Schaler, bring us experimental models that support your statements working with people that are dual or triple diagnosed living in or below poverty state, who are struggling with adjustment disorder, antisocial disorders and addictions combined with no where to live, and living with HIV/AIDS, etc, and tell us the same thing. These issues are prevalent in many urban cities and rural towns. Quit selling us on theories with no factual proof. You are trying to sell out those who need help by making those who are addicted issues look meaningless.
Be careful of what you see and hear. It is clear to see that this ABC newscast "choice" was to deceive. []
