One of the things alcohol and hard drugs have in common is addiction. This is one negative impact of these substances that shouldn't be overlooked. It's not bad to take alcoholic drinks. In fact, lots of ceremonies in this part of my world are not complete without alcoholic drinks, but the major problem here is that most people find it difficult to consume them in moderation. Both hard drugs and alcohol get you high and are capable of destroying your body system if consumed in excess. It also has the capability of draining your pocket once you get addicted to it. The negative effects of these substances are just too big to overlook.
Most of our young people think that until they start getting high with alcohol, they have arrived in the big boys gang. Some people feel left out, and others see those who don't drink alcohol as outdated people or low-class guys. Some people get totally lost in alcohol due to friends; they want to belong and keep overdrinking themselves to belong to the gang of big boys in town, literally ruining their lives. The last time I checked, excessive intake of alcohol can destroy the liver and kidney, so why should one bring destruction to himself all in the name of trying to impress friends or because this drink is legalized in your country without thinking of the possible negative effect it may have on your body system?
In this part of my world, most people see alcohol as a drink to get out of depression. Some men, when they have issues with their wives at home, will run to the beer parlor to get themselves drunk, thinking they feel alright. Young guys even play beer competitions on this side, drinking to stupors and neglecting its negative effects. Moderation is not even in their dictionary. They are so blind to recognize the negative effects of excessive alcohol intake until their health is attacked. Without going far into the videos that fly around the Internet on the effects of too much alcohol consumption, I have seen men in my community die due to this same alcohol. When you try to remind them of the need to stick with moderation, they will remind you that even Jesus turned water into wine. That's true; even the scripture didn't condemn alcohol but never advocated for excessive intake of it. So if I had the opportunity to ban this drink, I wouldn't, but I will always advocate for moderation for people who take it. You wouldn't want to bring your own destruction in the name of talking alcohol. No one who takes alcoholic drinks in moderation has his health affected.
And then the hard drugs—this one is not even legalized in my country, but yet, people still have their way into taking this substance capable of affecting their mentality. I have read stories of people who ran mad due to hard drugs. This one, no matter how much you want to play moderation, you can't escape its negative effect; it's that bad. Only if people can value their lives, they stay away completely from hard drugs and stick with moderation while taking alcoholic drinks, and of course the damaging effects of alcoholic drinks are no different from the damaging effects of hard drugs. However, life is a choice, and I hope that people make the right choices in life.
This post is in response to the #hivelearners community contest on the topic titled, No more alcohol
All images are mine