Illegal drug use is pervasive in our modern society despite our president’s iron hand

against drugs, and it does not affect our country, Philippines, only but also, across many
countries. The difficult fact to digest is that although many have become financially wealthy with
drug trafficking, it came at the expense of our Filipino youths. The reason being is young people
usually fall at the cross hairs of the war between the drug traffickers and the Philippine
government’s aggressive stance against illegal drugs. In many instances, Filipino youths are used
as drug couriers to deliver illegal drugs to drug users (Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency,
n.d.). However, one Filipino teenager, Kian Santos, died early at the hands of our Philippine
police, but he was only suspected of drug possession and never proven guilty of drug crimes in
the justice courts (Gavillan, 2018).
In addition to that, it is noteworthy that Philippines is an archipelagic country. This
geographical characteristic makes monitoring and policing drugs across the Philippine Islands
harder but favors those drug syndicates who can make drop offs of illegal drugs at seaports and
remote areas in the Philippines. Aside from being archipelagic, the climate in our country and the
mountainous regions in the Northern Luzon area are ideal places for marijuana farms. During
tourist seasons before the COVID-19 pandemic, marijuana is in high demand among tourists
which make marijuana to proliferate in these regions despite the “War on drugs”. These illegal
drug transactions are even difficult to trace because bank-to-bank transfers or wire transfers are
the common means to transact drugs (Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency, n.d.).
African Drug Syndicates (ADS) continue to recruit Overseas Filipino Workers (OFW) as
international illegal drug couriers (Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency, n.d.). Over the years,
news would break out in the evening television news segments that poor and underprivileged
OFWs would be caught by authorities carrying astronomical amounts of illegal drugs. Once
caught by authorities, it is a pity that they won’t face lower drug penalties but rather, they will
face the maximum penalty for drug violations – the death penalty. Mary Jane Veloso was a
victim when she was recruited to smuggle drugs to Indonesia, but she was caught eventually.
The Indonesian government without hesitation sentenced her to death by firing squad.
Fortunately, the Indonesian president was sympathetic enough to give a temporary reprieve
which delayed her death sentence (Holmes, 2016).
These facts – youths as drug couriers, ideal geographical location for illegal drug
trafficking and farming, OFWs recruited by drug syndicates as drug smugglers – paint a sad
reality of the drug situation here in the Philippines. A firm hand from our current president is not
even enough to stop entirely illegal drugs from proliferating, and perhaps, there are more deaths
than lives being rehabilitated from illegal drug use because of “nanlaban” encounters with police
authorities. Indeed, drugs have plagued our society, and those who are in the minority, especially
the marginalized, voiceless, and underprivileged, suffer the brunt of the negative consequences
of illegal drug trafficking. Many of the Filipino minority get involved in the illegal and
dangerous business for survival to feed their undernourished families. My sympathies for those
OFWs who volunteered or for some, without choice and forced, to smuggle drugs despite the
life-ending penalties when caught for drug violations. Moreover, I am concerned with the
families of those innocent teenagers who are innocent yet died undeservingly.
Illegal drugs bring more pain and loss than happiness and prosperity, and how much
more loss will there be for those who abuse taking it? As a Medical Technology student, I would
know that pathogenic microorganisms are smaller than weapons of mass destruction, yet they are
capable of harm to populations such as the COVID-19 pandemic that we are all familiar with.
Although apparently bigger than pathogens, drugs are similar in a sense they are smaller than
nuclear weapons, but they can cause harm to those who abuse it.
Methamphetamine or shabu, and together with marijuana, are the most abused drugs in
the Philippines. Also, ecstasy or methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) is a drug popular
among those who party and have a night life despite the expensive price tag. However, alcohol,
prescription drugs, and nicotine are substances that should not be excluded from the list of
abused drugs. The reason being is they can also be addictive, and in the long term, bring life-
threatening consequences. Pleasure is the main reason why Filipinos abuse these drugs, and for
some, they use it to overcome stress from working long periods regardless of the consequences
(Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency, n.d.).
But to think, the abuse of drugs starts with only one try. I learned from my research about
drug addiction that its nature is progressive. Once you try to take in drugs, it affects the reward
system of your brain which produces dopamine. Dopamine can be associated with pleasure and
happiness from genuine events like family gathering or career success. However, drugs work like
that where it can stimulate the brain to produce dopamine. Then, your brain is wired for you to
take more drugs to attain that surge of dopamine in your system, and it becomes in the habit.
After a while, your brain adapts, and it will not be as stimulated like before. What happens is that
your brain cells develop a tolerance toward drugs, so there will be less stimulation whenever you
take drugs. In turn, you would take more and more drugs than before to achieve the surge of
dopamine like before. Then, you have now become a drug addict (National Instittue on Drug
Use, 2018).
Being addicted to drugs, pose serious physical, social, and financial risks. One risk is that
you tend to become more violent towards others, and you would associate more with drugs than
to be with others. Also, there is a financial risk because as you would spend more money as you
consume more drugs. The expenses would accumulate as the consumption of drugs increases.
Cardiovascular and respiratory problems can be associated with long-term illegal drug use, and
since it affects the brain, your cognitive judgment and memory will adversely altered (National
Instittue on Drug Use, 2018).
Taking account how drug addiction works compounded with the drug situation here in
the Philippines, there is no surprise why illegal drug use is prevalent. It has even reach to schools
because I know someone who admittingly takes drugs. That person I know would take drugs
before coming to school, and experience sleepiness during class lectures. It is worrisome that the
person I know would rather take drugs and sacrifice their studies. However, I learned from this
webinar that there is no place for stigma towards drug addicts if you want to help them. The
National Institute on Drug Abuse recommends the involvement of everyone including their
families and school in helping them to overcome drug addiction. In addition to that, my research
for my reporting opened my eyes to their reality that quitting drug abuse is from being easy. The
tendency of relapse is very high because there is irreparable damage to the brain due to drug
abuse over the years (National Instittue on Drug Use, 2018). Hating them would make their lives
harder.
Unfortunately, I can be a victim to drug addiction too, and I almost tried to take in
marijuana. I was glad that my friend was there to stop me from doing so, otherwise, I would be
regretting it today. If I did take drugs, I believe I would lose my family who loves me so much
considering that I can become more violent and isolated. Honestly, my family was there when I
had a tough time with depression, and they supported me despite of my flaws and imperfections
as a person. If I had a chance to be tempted again, God forbid that I would grab that chance.