Technical
Paper
While
many teens and young adults are kept busy with
homework or a job, school and social activities,
many also find themselves with time on their hands
and not much to do except to gather with friends
on street corners, at malls or billiard halls.
Young people often find themselves experiencing
pressure from peers to try something they might
not be ready for, not comfortable with, or even
afraid of, like cigarettes, alcohol, shoplifting,
sex and drugs. Serious social problems like drug
abuse, crime and unwanted pregnancies are affecting
teens and young adults directly. In major cities
like Jakarta and others, they face hard choices
every day, and may be feeling pressures or urges
that adults can't comprehend. Society has learned
enough over the decades to know that it's not
effective or realistic for parents, teachers or
the government to try simply to shield teenagers
by telling them not to ask questions -- just say
"No!" Instead, we need to make sure
young people get the facts about drugs, sex and
disease, and make decisions with open eyes - --
and provide them with a strong base of love and
support.
Following are some of the basic facts with which
we -- and our children, students and friends --
should be familiar. Lowdown on drugs
Plenty of psychoactive drugs -- substances that
affect the normal functioning of the central nervous
system -- are readily available in Indonesia.
These include controlled substances like alcohol
and tobacco, various brands of painkillers, sleeping
pills, sedatives and diet pills, and magic mushrooms.
Then there are the illicit substances, including
heroin, methamphetamines, marijuana and ecstasy.
Cocaine, LSD, hashish and forms of opium other
than heroin are not commonly available in Indonesia.
The three main groups of psychoactive drugs are
stimulants, depressants and psychedelics.
Using uppers, or stimulants, increases your heart
rate and blood pressure and reduces your appetite.
Methamphetamines ( known locally as shabu-shabu
) are very common in Indonesia. They can cause
jitteriness, aggressiveness and dilated pupils.
Methamphetamine use also rots the teeth. Tobacco
products contain the stimulant nicotine. In the
long term, smoking is devastating to the body
and can kill you with heart or lung disease, including
lung cancer and other conditions. People use these
to feel more confident, energetic or excited.
But with an excessive dose, or in an extra-sensitive
user, heart and blood vessel problems as well
as seizures are possible. Users also may feel
anxious, paranoid or confused. After just a few
days of use -- often not eating or sleeping --
a user will be completely exhausted. Taking downers,
or depressants, relaxes the muscles, dulls pain
or causes sleep. People may take depressants for
other reasons, such as to reduce anxiety, lower
inhibitions or just to feel good. But there are
side effects like constipation, nausea, slurred
speech and, in the long run, sexual dysfunction.
Long-term or heavy use of alcohol does major damage
to the liver, heart, digestive system and brain,
and is linked to several types of cancer. The
same is true for heroin and other opioids, which
affect almost every part of the body. And of course,
a heroin overdose can kill you.
Psychedelics, or hallucinogens, include magic
mushrooms, marijuana and ecstasy. Side effects
can include nausea, dizziness and bloodshot eyes.
Ecstasy is common in Indonesia. Users say it gives
them heightened awareness, empathy with others
and a desire to dance. But excessive use or overdose
can cause anxiety or seizures. Depression, suicide
and brain damage have been linked to ecstasy use.
Inhalants are also commonly used in Indonesia,
as they are cheap and widely available. But this
is a very dangerous game. Sniffing glue -- or
metallic paints, gasoline and others -- can cause
excitement, dizziness and slurred speech. It can
also cause loss of consciousness, delirium or
even coma, and can damage the lungs, brain, liver,
kidneys and blood cells. Long-term effects Drugs
change the way a person thinks, feels and behaves
-- so they are not dealing with reality, or being
themselves. With almost all drugs there is the
danger that while users are high or afterwards,
they may feel deeply depressed -- this may last
a long time or even become a permanent problem.
Most teen suicides involve alcohol or drugs. Taking
any psychoactive drugs can lead to dependence
-- an inability to deal with reality without drugs.
As with most drugs, the body builds up a physical
tolerance to it, so that users need more -- and
more often -- to generate the feeling they want.
For many, this leads to addiction.
Addicts can find themselves involved in crimes
and taking deadly risks to get their next dose.
When their cash is gone, they often turn to theft
-- stealing even from family and friends -- or
start injecting the drugs to get a faster, stronger
hit for a cheaper price, thus risking overdose.
In desperation, due to peer pressure or just because
they no longer care about the consequences, users
often share needles, risking infection with HIV,
hepatitis C and other dangerous blood-borne diseases.
Injecting drug users ( IDUs ) especially have
become a serious concern in Indonesia, due to
the dramatic recent increases in the proportion
of IDUs infected with HIV. According to AIDS Komunitas
AIDS Indonesia ( www.aids-ina.org ), an estimated
32 percent to 53 percent ( average 41 percent
) of IDUs in Indonesia have contracted HIV or
have developed AIDS. And of all Indonesians living
with AIDS, about half became infected through
injecting drug use. In Jakarta, this is as high
as 72 percent, compared to 28 percent in Bali
and less than 1 percent in Papua. In the latter,
HIV has been spread mostly by sexual contact.
Data provided by the Health Ministry reveals that,
of all reported cases of IDUs living with HIV/AIDS
in Indonesia, seven out of 10 are young people
under the age of 30.
Once addicted, trying to quit is extremely hard,
and withdrawal can be excruciating. Seeing a friend
or relative go through all this, and trying to
help them, can be just as difficult and hurtful.
Aside from the risks of overdose, addiction and
health damage, people who use drugs to avoid bad
feelings or problems will not learn how to cope
with emotional pain and other issues in life.
Sources: Uppers, Downers, All Arounders by Inaba
and Cohen ( 2000 ); Ade Aulia Erwin, IDU Officer
DKI Jakarta; Injecting Drug Users Unit, Aksi Stop
AIDS ( ASA ) program, Family Health International-Jakarta;
Internet
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