People are turning to substances to cope

abuse is becoming a problem which requires attention.

“It becomes your number one priority in life. Work, relationships, and recreational activities are not prioritized,” said Olcheske.

Drug use is becoming increasingly more common amongst people. With more and more people being introduced to drugs through the normalization of their usage, most have experienced its effects, whether that be direct or indirect from others.

The United States problem with drug use and criminalization of drug

The amount of people who use drugs or another addictive substance is climbing. With nicotine available in multiple forms at any local gas station and a skymint around the corner, these substances have become extremely normalized.

Getting access to these substances isn’t as difficult as it once was, with most people being old enough or knowing someone who is able to purchase drugs for them. People having more access to these substances has opened a door for increased drug use. People using drugs more builds tolerance and an addiction, which can develop SUD (substance use disorder).

Physician Christine Perry from McLaren Hospital explained how anyone can be capable of using a substance. Perry also talked about how people should still respect everyone around them, regardless of someone’s situation.

Dr. Perry’s opinions are not affiliated with McLaren Hospital.

“Each one of us is vulnerable to drug abuse at different times in our lives for reasons in or out of our control. We need to be respectful of others no matter what,” Dr. Perry said.

Psychology teacher Russ Olcheske spoke about about how drugs can be a coping mechanism for people under stress.

He also discussed how life is getting harder for students, and how that could have correlation to teenage drug use.

“Because life is hard. And a lot of people are turning to drugs as a way to cope with the stresses of life. And for teenagers, life is stressful. It’s way harder than when I was at school.

“It’s all the pressures of social media, and it just seems like expectations are ramped up for academic performance, [and] athletic was a tough period for people,” said Olcheske.

While the pandemic had indirect causes to growth in drug use, it also acted as a direct influence for some. Rose explained how her mother used money received from stimulus checks to continue the use of drugs.

“She was clean for a couple of years. And then, as soon as she got her stimulus check, she started using drugs again,” said Rose.

While the pandemic did not create the drug abuse problem, it did act as a catalyst for it.

According to a study conducted by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration in 2020, an estimated 25.9 million performance,” said Olcheske.

Sophomore Isabella Rose talked about how her mother was impacted by drug use. She described how her relationship with her mother changed because of it.

“She has five kids and has custody of none of them because of it. She just really throws her life away because of [drugs]. And it really ruined our relationship because of it. Like, I don’t really talk to her anymore. I tried to talk to her, but she just makes everything about her and I don’t like that,” said Rose .

People use coping mechanisms like social interaction to deal with stress, so when those coping mechanisms are restricted, people look for other sources to cope.

Olcheske added that the stress and restraints that come from the pandemic could be a major factor in the spike of people turning to drugs as a coping mechanism.

“The pandemic was a big piece of people turning to drugs or alcohol to deal with. There’s financial distress… a lot of people lost their jobs or their hours are reduced or whatever. Routine structure, you know, a meetings meet, you know, just social gatherings, you know, things that are important people and good coping mechanisms to deal with, like, those weren’t available necessarily during the pandemic. And so, you know, that alcohol drinkers and 10.9 drug users had reported using a drug ‘a little more’ or ‘much more.’ The government group uses the information gathered to guide policy direction to address different problems such as drug abuse, suicide prevention, and long term treatment and recovery.

With people who already use substances stating that they are doing them in an increased amount, it leads people to wonder when drug use turns to drug abuse. Dr. Perry breaks down the difference between the two.

“The Baby Boomer generation did not know the ramifications of their use of substances. Nicotine, for example. This generation has knowledge and choses to vape or smoke. To me, there is no deterrent to use. We need to motivate them to not utilize them,” said Perry.

Dr. Perry offered methods and ideas of things that people can do to aid in the fight against drug use. Together, as a community, everyone can help each other.

“De-stigmatize abuse. People do recover. We need to celebrate victories. I think the general public would be shocked to know some prominent pop culture people, people of authority, and all walks of life have this issue. Normalize talking about drugs and drug use,” said Dr. Perry.