Problem of drugs

Within the last twenty years drugs have become a very serious problem in Poland. Transformations connected with 'melting' the iron curtain brought to this country from the Western Europe and United States of America new trends and businesses. So did drugs. Prior to 1980, Poland had different problems and the most common was alcoholism and poverty. Nowadays we welcome the twenty first century with a new disease - drug addiction.
In the United States the ingestion of various drugs widespread in the late fifties. At the very beginning heroine was a matter of fashion among some 'privileged' or prestigious groups of people like musicians, actors and writers. It became broadly used later. What made drugs popular was a resistance to American intervention in Vietnam. Young people were desperately looking for freedom and peace. The only thing that could provide that perfect and careless world was a drug.
While the youth from the States and Western Europe was trying to find a new mystical experience through LSD, only few people in Poland were taking drugs. The fashion for being hippie and what is related to this fact - narcotics - was not trendy as much as in other non-communistic countries. The intake of drugs among polish hippies was caused by curiosity and deep craving for likening to their friends from the West. Alcohol was still more popular. It was within easy reach in comparison with drugs.
At present reasons for taking drugs are slightly different. Today in any larger town or city students can easily buy a great variety of drugs. Children in primary school take narcotics because of curiosity, teenagers in secondary school because it is fashionable and for them it is a sign of maturity. Students of the university take drugs in order to learn faster and of course during parties - to relax and have a great time. Polish third level students are rather cautious about ingestion of drugs. They prefer using so-called 'soft' drugs like dope. Why? The answer is simple - they claim that dope does not cause addiction. The second reason is that they are afraid of being got rid of the school.
Nevertheless, the most significant reason that makes people take drugs, no matter if they live in the United States or Poland, is the dying out of traditional values and moral principles. People unconsciously aim to fulfil the emptiness. Through the LSD they leave the external world and create their own artificial and lopsided picture of the reality - the sick picture.
Drugs are not only a fashion - it is a great business. More and more teenagers occupy a new profession - drug dealing. If I told somebody to buy some marijuana, he or she would do this in fifteen minutes. It is not a problem where to buy them; the problem is money. Addicted people will do everything to get some money for drugs - including robbing their own families. In most cases drug dealers have never tried even 'soft' drugs. But behind the small dealers there is always something more - the whole Mafia.
The ingestion of narcotics we can describe as social disease. Addiction involves other diseases, for example AIDS. Despite adverse effect on health, we can say that drugs take away human self-esteem as well. The interest of many people in drug experience may not be regarded only as rebelliousness or curiosity. Very often drugs are treated as a substitute for busy parents' 'love' or relief in difficulties of life. That is why this disease concerns the whole society.
Will we ever solve the problem of drugs? I do not think so. First of all, Polish law is not harmonised with reality. If some strangers grow drug-alike toadstools causing hallucinations, and then probably sell them to children, with no reaction of the police - it means that the law is sick. What is more, it takes place in the village where I live. Even American law, which is very strict in the case of drugs, cannot handle with this problem. There will be always corrupt clerks and politicians that turn a blind eye to the drug business. Polish government is neither eager to tighten up the law nor at least do anything towards the whole problem. That is why I do not believe in solving this issue.