How amazing would it be to live in a society that is drug-free?

Such question must have once crossed the mind of an ordinary Filipino considering that we
are now at the height of our country’s infamous drug war. However, as much as we would like to
fantasize an ideal society, reality reigns us back in and slaps us hard in the face.

Let’s face it: the number of drug users in the Philippines has dwindled only because we have
used brute force in our police operations. Ours is the kind of society that condemns even before it
understands. How, then, do we expect a continued decline in our drug addicts without an increase
of unnecessary deaths? The answer lies in the second basic unit of society- schools. Tackle a
nationwide problem in the micro-level. Educate the youth and provide opportunities for them to be
active in school and in community instead of engaging in drugs. Talk about how dangerous drugs
are to our health. And by so doing, we will have comprehensive understanding of why people do
drugs and why people stay addicted to it.

It was just a few months ago when I last saw Robert Downey Jr. appear in the latest
Avengers movie. He was casted as the clever main character called Iron Man. In the movie, he has
sacrificed himself for the sake of all that he believes in— second chances. Robert Downey was a
drug addict. He is clean now.

It made me reflect of how stingy we have been with our second chances that the moment
we thought of a solution for drug addiction, we resort to killing drug addicts.

This doesn’t have to be the case. If anyone is out there who is tempted to try because of a
variety of reasons, I only have one thing to say: Go to school.