No one needs to talk about the effects of drugs and their devastating effect on our society. Its ingrained in our minds from the moment we step in to this world. “Say no to drugs”, “Work together towards a drug free society” are content that we come across almost everyday even though we do not give it a moments thought.

At present, drug users are labelled as people who are “sick”, needing all the encouragement and help the society can offer so that they overcome the habit of relying on drugs to keep their problems at bay. In this I disagree to the extent that it is those drug offenders who really WANT to help themselves and WANT to work towards leading a drug free life that need our help and encouragement.

From the moment a child is born into this world, it is the everlasting dream of the parents to provide their child with the betterments in life that they never had. Providing a good education, better health care and living conditions for their family are the motivating factors that propel parents to work sometimes more than one job, just to make ends meet. It is the hope of every parent that their child would grow up to be a person who can contribute towards the wellness of the society.

Achieving this dream is tough enough as it is without battling with the darker forces in the society. The ease of availability of drugs, the rising amount of peer pressure amongst the young to be “cool” (which mostly means performing acts of rebellion towards the authority of ones parents) and the suppliers who are always looking for fresh young blood to “contaminate” makes the job of being a parent extra hard.

The congested conditions within which we live in makes it difficult to bring up ones children in the proper manner of discipline as large extended families have to make do with the cramped housing conditions in the capital city, which is where a proper education can be given to their children. I am certaiin that 99% of the families in our society would have had some sort of run in with drug offenders, either they be within their immediate family or the extended family.

Thus I say that parents who are able to come out victorious in the said battle and bring up their children to be all that and more they have dreamt of them to be, needs to be awarded for the “war” fought on behalf of their children and our society. They should be recognized as those who aimed for the sky and reached it, nevertheless of the forces that act collectively against it.