Much like the numerous warnings from doctors, righteous ad campaigns and the Surgeon General declaring nicotine as deadly, that cigarettes are highly addictive, and to be honest, pretty unattractive, you’d think we’d learn the same about drugs like
heroin,
ecstasy,
cocaine and even
marijuana. Sadly, the lesson seems to go unlearned on both accounts.
Just recently, I read two stories highlighted in the news where drugs played a part in horrific actions. First was the massacre that took place in Norway, in which
Anders Behring Breivik confessed to the bombing in Norway’s capital of Oslo as well as the rampage at a Labor Party retreat for young people that left 76 dead. Breivik’s lawyer, Geir Lippestad, told reporters Tuesday that Breivik partook in drug abuse in order to be “strong, efficient, and awake.” In addition to the
drug abuse, Lippestad has suggested that the whole case suggests his client is insane. We may not know for sure if Breivik suffers from a mental disorder as well as substance abuse, but we are left to wonder; is this an example of an untreated mental illness combined with drug abuse that could have been prevented.
Secondly I read a story of a
Florida teen, Tyler Hadley who was high on ecstasy when he bludgeoned his parents to death with a hammer, and then threw a party via Facebook invites, while his parent’s bodies remained in a locked bedroom. Can you imagine? He threw a party while his parents were lying dead in the next room. While again, we may not know for sure, it seems likely that Tyler may have also been struggling with a mental illness as well as drug abuse.
These two stories raise many questions. Would these violent acts, regardless if they were premeditated or not, gone to the extreme that they did if there were no drugs involved? Would they have occurred on a smaller scale? Not occurred at all? Do these individuals have a skewed perception as to how the drugs would affect themselves? Did they know these drugs would vastly alter their actions? Without treatment, one thing is for certain, the combination of a mental disorder and drug abuse can have disastrous consequences. An addicted individual will not recover fully if all aspects of the addiction aren't treated. Call us today for more information about
dual diagnosis or co-occurring disorders. There is hope for a brighter future!