The Habit

One topic that I have yet to discuss is how drug use relates to poverty. The other day I watched a special on television about a young woman's struggle with her addiction to heroine...later accompanied by an addiction to cocaine. She lived with her boyfriend who was a drug dealer and had a part time job. This young woman could not keep a job for more than a week because her drug use got in the way. She used about $20 worth of heroine a day while her boyfriend used about $150 a day. This obviously put great financial strain on their relationship. She eventually kicked her out of their apartment because she could not find, or keep a job. Her parents had already put her through 6 detox and rehab programs, so at this point they were unwilling to help her. She lived on the streets and in jails for almost a year because any money she could scrape up was used for her drug addiction. She was in an ugly cycle for years: having nowhere to live and no money because she couldn't get a job, couldn't get a job because the drugs were impairing her mental ability. She eventually got the help she needed and has been sober and gotten her life back on track. I know that this type of life is often seen with drug addicts because their money goes to support their habit. However, the addicts are not always young adults. Sometimes children grow up in households with parents that are addicts, and they must suffer the consequences of the drug abuse. I watched a movie on Lifetime a few years ago in a Health class called "Homeless to Harvard". I don't remember everything about the movie, but basically a girl grew up in a household with parents that were addicted to various substances. She was malnourished and lived in filthy circumstances, eventually becoming homeless. She took her life and changed it around by getting accepted into Harvard. I'm not sure what she does now (this is a true story) but I know that she is well off now. Drug abuse is a very scary thing and it can be so damaging...in many ways, including poverty. However, it's been proven that people can overcome either drug abuse or the effects of drug abuse, and not have to live the rest of their lives in poverty.