The United States is a nation overflowing with junkies and drug dealers.  If you doubt this is true, how else can you explain new statistics that show that there is one drug bust in the U.S. every 18 seconds.  That means that there are an average of three drug busts every single minute of every single day in America.

Has the war on drugs failed?     

The F.B.I. has released the Uniform Crime Report for 2008, and it does not paint a pretty picture.  According to the report, there were 1,702,537 drug arrests in 2008, and 82.3 percent of those arrests were for possession of a contraband substance.

What does it say about a nation when there are 1.7 MILLION drug arrests in that country per year?

44 percent of the arrests were for possession of marijuana.  This is prompting many pot advocates to once again call for marijuana legalization.  For example, NORML director Allen St. Pierre released a media advisory in which he made this statement: "Present enforcement policies are costing American taxpayers tens of billions of dollars, ruining the lives of hundreds of thousands of Americans, and having no impact on marijuana availability or marijuana use in this country. It is time to end this failed policy and replace prohibition with a policy of marijuana regulation, taxation, and education."

But the reality, as we have previously covered, is that marijuana is a highly addictive, very dangerous substance.  If it was legalized it is very likely that crime and traffic accidents would increase significantly.

But illegal drugs are only part of the story when it comes to America's love affair with drugs.  The truth is that millions of Americans are completely addicted on legal prescription drugs, and thousands of doctors push them on their patients knowing full well that they are highly addictive and dangerous.

However, as we have previously written, there is hope for prescription drug addicts just as there is for illegal drug addicts.  There are some prescription drugs addictions that are incredibly difficult to beat, but the truth is that any addiction can be beat if you are willing to fight.

But what causes addiction in the first place?  The reality is that for most people they are trying to feel better or trying to escape or trying to fill a gaping hole in their lives.  Life is hard, and if you don't have a relationship with God, then there will always be that temptation to turn to something when things don't go well.

We invite you to learn the true secret to lasting joy and peace.  There is nothing quite like knowing that your life has real meaning.  Jesus Christ died on the cross for your sins so that you can have a relationship with the God of the universe that will last forever.  To learn more, we invite you to check this out.....

http://www.chick.com/reading/tracts/1049/1049_01.asp

Drug addiction is very serious. More than 19,000 people a year die from using illegal drugs and it is estimated that over 16 million Americans have a drug addiction problem.

The kinds of illegal drugs that people get addicted to are many, but they are all very dangerous. Some of the most common drugs that Americans get addicted to include marijuana, cocaine, crystal meth, ecstasy, heroin, LSD, PCP and ketamine (special K).

While there are many types of illegal drugs they have one thing in common. They are destroying lives.

The following statistics come from US NO DRUGS.....

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*In one research study, approximately 1 in 5 people between the ages of 16 and 59 said that they had taken at least one of the drugs mentioned in the study.

*People ages 18 to 21 were most likely to admit having taken drugs with almost half (46%) claiming to have taken them.

*More men than women said that they had taken drugs. 24% of men and 16% of women had taken at least one kind of drug in their lives.

*Amongst those ages 18-21; 51% of men and 38% of women had taken drugs.

*More men than women had experienced taking more than one drug at a time. 52% of men but only 36% of women who had taken drugs had taken more than one type.

*Marijuana was the most commonly used drug, experienced by 12% of all participants and 24% of those ages 18 to 25.

*19.5 million people over the age of 12 use illegal drugs in the United States (Mayo Clinic).

*There were 601,776 estimated drug-related emergency department episodes in 2000. Among these, there were 1,100,539 drug mentions. Keep in mind, more than one drug may be in a person's system at the time of admission.

*Alcohol in combination with other drugs was the most frequently mentioned drug at time of emergency department admission (204,524), followed by cocaine (174,896), heroin/morphine (97,287), and marijuana (96,446).

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So how do you know if you are addicted to an illegal drug? The following are some of the common symptoms:

-The feeling that you can't get through the day without the drug.

-You are not able to control your drug use. In other words, “one hit” is never enough.

-The feeling that you must always have a supply of the drug.

-Repeated failure in trying to stop using the drug.

-You may find yourself driving under the influence of the drug even though intellectually you know that it is wrong.

-You may find yourself stealing money or committing crimes to obtain the drug.

-You may experience increased irritability and anger, and you may find yourself resorting to violence much more easily.

-The feeling that you must have the drug to deal with your problems.

-You may have many unexplained absences from work and have difficulty sleeping.

If you are addicted to an illegal drug, there is good news. You can get free if you are willing to fight to do so. 

There are basically four key steps that you need to take.

#1) Admit You Have A Problem

Most addicts refuse to admit that they are addicts. They ignore the problem and so they never get any treatment for it. If you are going to beat this, then at some point the first step is to admit to yourself and others that you do indeed have a problem.

#2) Decide That You Want To Change

Many addicts are perfectly content to stay in their addicted state. It is comfortable for many of them. But in order to change you have to decide that is what you want, and you aren’t going to accept the pain and suffering that your addiction is causing you any longer.

#3) Reach Out For Help

Talk to someone that you trust and ask for help. This involves swallowing your pride. Often a good first step is to reach out to a trusted family member. After that, reaching out to a professional who works in the field of your addiction or reaching out to a spiritual advisor can be extremely helpful. You are likely to need help in overcoming your addiction, and family, friends and licensed professionals are there to be that help.

#4) Turn To God

Ultimately this is the most important step. Many have found that they did not have the power in themselves to beat an addiction, but that when they turned to God they found all the power that they ever needed. The truth is that we all need God whether we are addicts or not. We are all messed up in some way and we have all sinned. But the good news is that Jesus Christ came to this earth to die for our sins on the cross. We urge you to invite Jesus Christ into your life today, because He will not only help you overcome your addiction - He will forgive your sins and give you eternal life, and nothing is more important than that.

To learn more about how you can become a Christian, we would encourage you to read this.....

http://www.chick.com/reading/tracts/1049/1049_01.asp