By Swallehe Msuya

At a drug recognition and awareness training workshop held at the Minneapolis Urban league on Thursday, August 14; an expert Deborah Mosby told an attentive audience that substance abuse is both rampant and its distribution mechanism has become very sophisticated in our communities.

Deborah who works at the Metropolitan State University discussed in general terms how licit and illicit drugs have become a part of our daily lives in our communities with serious consequences on those who use them.

“There are serious drug effects on the brain and addicts usually start with tobacco, alcohol then move on into drugs and other chemicals with negative influences on their lives and their bodies,” she explained.

She gave a long list of substances including alcohol, tobacco, caffeine, cocaine, crack, marijuana, steroids, depressants, hallucinogens, stimulants and a whole host of other narcotics that harm our bodies.

Giving a breakdown of some of the adverse effects that these drugs have in the bodies of the users, she cited such effects as drowsiness, lack of concentration, lack of coordination, slurred speech, weak and rapid pulse, distorted vision, low blood pressure, shallow breathing, hallucinations, tremors – to name but a few of the dangers of drug addiction.

It was noted that the narcotics industry is a well established corporate business globally reinforced by big money with private armies, aircrafts, corrupt regimes and the lack of awareness among the general public. She noted that heavy penalties alone without creating the much desired general public awareness of the dangers of substance abuse will not solve the problem.

Existing legislation such as “The Controlled Substances Act, DWI laws, Liquor Control Violations, Freedom to Breathe Act (anti-smoking in public places) and other Federal penalties for controlled substances violations covering the manufacture, distribution, and the possession of drugs,  regrettably; have done little to contain the problem.

For immigrants from Africa, an estimated 10 million people across the globe chew khat (originating from the Horn of Africa) as a stimulant drug. Although this shrub is not listed under the Controlled Substance Act, one of its constituents – cathinone – is a Schedule 1 drug. “The Federal Government treats khat as equivalent to cathinone and therefore considers its use illegal.”

Commonly abused drugs in communities include stimulants such as cocaine, meth and prescription speed.  Depressants include alcohol, sedative hypnotics, and opiates. Those for hallucinations include LSD, mushrooms, peyote, and marijuana. Inhalants come in different tricky forms and disguises even in ball-pen and cigarette lighter disguises.

Substance abuse has contributed to brain damage for a lot of its users and can be listed as a weapon of mass destruction. Society is called upon to take a stand and fight this life-threatening monster from our communities for the sake of rescuing our next generation from graduating into full-time addicts.

The workshop was organized by the Minnesota Institute of Public Health in collaboration with the Minneapolis Urban League as a means to help raise awareness of the dangers of drug use and commonly prescribed medications and how they can be abused.