You, yourself, might be one of the fortunate who can have a drink or two and stop. Who is wise enough to know that you are driving or have to be home to your family. Your life is manageable, and you have no problems of your own related to drugs or alcohol. Congratulations!
However, you are still affected, directly by this problem of extreme proportion. Retail prices, when you buy something are affected due to the tremendous amount of shoplifting that goes on to support the habits of many addicts.
You are at a greater risk of burglary, assault, robbery and other drug related crimes than you would be if addiction did not exist. You might have addictions of your own, such as work, gambling, sex, or money. There are lots more than just drug and alcohol addictions.
There is a good chance that you have a loved one who has gone astray, and you are helplessly watching as they throw their lives down the drain. When you do get involved, more than likely you are doing more harm than good in your efforts. If that is the case, this section is for you. You can make a difference if you truly desire to, and if you have some idea of what you are getting into and how to handle this tender situation.
So often, the affected family member is often harmed just as much, if not more seriously, than the addicts themselves, often from physical or verbal abuse. From the constant worry of what is going on with them, where they are, who they are with and what they are doing! If you are not worried about these things, chances are you are a big contributor to the problem. As an affected family member, there is financial repercussion! Death! Accidents! Illness! The list is endless.
The good news is, that there are things that you can do to help those directly affected, and to help yourself. My intention is to help you to better understand this illness, and to inform you of how you might make a difference in convincing your loved ones to get help. How to help them through their storm. And how you can find support and be amongst others who are struggling with drug and alcohol related issues of their own.
It is also my intention to make everyone who reads this book understand that we have a problem of such giant magnitude, that I could not begin to explain it. It is my desire to create an urgency for people to get involved. For addicts to reform. To help people to understand that the only way that we are going to make a dent in this problem, is to pull together along the same lines of thinking and understanding, to do what each one of us is capable of, in making a difference in this problem that we are faced with.
The United States has never lost a war. Let's not start with this one!