Do we treat drug addiction as a crime? In many ways we do. Most adults in society believe that drugs are bad. This is a fair enough statement. However, if you ask your average middle-class conservative adult what to do about the problem, the answer is likely to be `Put them in jail. Put the suppliers in jail, put the dealers in jail and put the users in jail. That way it's off the streets.' This, unfortunately, is a simple, uneducated, naive solution to a complex problem.

I believe that a person addicted to a drug, for example, heroin, is sick. They are not criminals - they are victims. Of course, they bring the illness of addiction upon themselves by making wrong decisions and therefore, it is their own fault that they are sick. However, that does not change the fact that they are ill and they need treatment, not jail!

Because society's attitude is that drug addicts are criminals, and in schools the attitude is the same, some people keep secrets. I recently read a magazine put together monthly by a voluntary drug organisation. Inside, there was an article from a teacher at the TAFE/school, Bradfield College in North Sydney. This is a school with a name and a reputation for classes full of dropouts, people who don't like discipline and can't be bothered with full-time school. This was a thank-you letter from a teacher at Bradfield. It was thanking the drug organisation for doing a seminar at the school and informing them that two students had come forward admitting to drug problems and seeking help. The teachers had no idea about the problems.

A few years ago, a girl at this school came forward with her parents and confessed to Mrs Moore that she would be absent for two months of Year 12 to attend rehabilitation at a centre for drug-affected people. She still wanted to complete her HSC here at Pymble Ladies College. To her parents' and her surprise, she was promptly asked to leave.

There may be people affected by drugs right before you who are too scared to admit they have a problem. This proves that people don't want to know about the problem - they want to break up social groups so they can pull themselves as far away from the `disgusting criminal' scene as possible. This is, to me, a criminal act. It is the way society works and is not likely to change because people are often stuck in their views and schools that are private and wealthy will always strive to keep a grip on their reputation without giving any thought to the well-being of their students. Who cares if the ex-student is dead in an alley at 20 of a heroin addiction? They got their money and they want to avoid hearing the possibly horrible effects caused by that student's habit. Drugs and addiction can affect people from all schools, all jobs, all homes, all cultures and all countries. However, nothing will ever be done to help the victims unless people open their minds, prevent the problem and treat the affected instead of putting all their energy into fearing it.

Evaluation

I feel extremely passionate about the subject of drugs. I know a lot about the effect they can have on people. I wrote this piece to express my anger about the attitudes of society generally when it comes to drugs. I believe that the issue of drug addiction is a huge and difficult one to try and tackle. However, that is no excuse for people to turn away and ignore it. Problems are there to be solved and although some seem and may well be unsolvable, if we accept that we must try as a whole society, then much grief and pain may be spared.