Drug abuse leads to mental illness, says DDB
TWO-thirds of drug abuse patients suffer from mental illness, according to an official of the Dangerous Drugs Board (DDB).
Undersecretary Rommel Garcia, DDB vice chairman who was in Dagupan Wednesday for the observance of International Day Against Drug Abuse and illicit Drug Trafficking (IDADAIT), said that drug addicts have four Cs to go to: Center (for rehabilitation), Clinic (mental problem), Cell (prison) and Cemetery.
While there are several causes of mental illness, the top in the country now is drug abuse, Garcia told the more than 2,000 crowd of mostly students, citing his close observation of some 5,000 patients he handled as director of a drug rehabilitation center in Pampanga.
“Many lose sanity because of drug addiction,” Garcia said.
Garcia, a medical doctor and an addiction specialist, said he is a living witness of the evil effects of drugs to a person and stressed that drug addiction destroys the function of the human brain and cited some mental effects of drugs on the human body like disturbance in perception, orientation, memory and judgment and on physical health like cardiac pathology, pulmonary illness, hepatic problem and renal disease.
He said about 60 to 70 per cent of students afflicted by drugs perform poorly in their studies while about 80 per cent of professionals hooked into drugs eventually lose their jobs.
Garcia said based on a survey conducted, half of the people involved in drugs are separated from their husband or wife, or their families are dysfunctional.
Meanwhile, Superintendent Christopher Abrahano, city police chief, said he is happy that all efforts of government and non-government agencies here are geared towards an all-out war against drugs.
The IDADAIT celebration was jointly undertaken by Mayor-elect Belen Fernandez, PNP, DepEd, Northern Luzon Mother and Child Care, Region 1 Medical Center, Dangerous Drugs Board, City of Dagupan, Professional Regulations Commission, Association of Private Sector Colleges and Universities, Parole and Probation Office.— Eva Visperas
Share your Comments or Reactions
Powered by Facebook Comments
