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writing for godot

Addiction: Disease or Choice? I say Choice, and Here's Why.

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Written by Arturo Tha Cuban   
Sunday, 02 February 2014 02:42
I keep seeing posts all over Facebook, other Social Media sites and blogs (dont know why), about how addiction is a disease and not a crime. I agree how it's not a crime, however possession is. I'm not talking about pot here either, so all you potheads take heed. I'm talking about the hard shit.

Addiction is a CHOICE, not a DISEASE! Just like over-eating, smoking, drinking, etc.. With 99 percent of drugs out there, you can go through withdrawals for a few days and be clean. It's the CHOICE you make after that, that dictates if your a junkie or not!

I've lost many friends to drugs over the years including alcohol. We all came from the days of bands being on the road, decades ago. We were musicians, roadies, die hard fans, and close friends since our high school days if not longer. It was an awesome time in all of our lives. How many people can say they had the opportunities we did, and play for thousands of fans? As with all good things, they must come to an end. For our health, sanity, family, and reality.

I made a choice to cross over to the clean side when I first brought a child into this world, like most of us did. Many of us did not. They CHOSE to continue on the path to self-destruction, and while most of them are gone now, I still lose more friends at a faster rate than my 80 year old father does (according to him). And it's because of the CHOICES they made in their lives. Not some disease they had.

We have lost a few to Cancers of different sorts among other terminal health issues, some a direct cause of drug use. But these were actual disease, I mean it's not something you CHOOSE, it's something that chooses you, and you have absolutely no control. It's nature at it's worst, taking it's course.

Those are diseases, not ADDICTION to anything except life itself!

I love all of them to death, but I am not about to fool myself into thinking they were helpless and neither are they. I've tried to help many of them kick the habit, and almost always got the same answer. It went something like this: "It's my life and this is how I want to go out, who are you to tell me how to live my life, I want to go out having a good time". A good time they say...

I, as well as other people presented them with a chance, and opportunity to get clean, and they CHOSE to not be helped. Because they DECIDED that this was how they were going to "go out". In a typical year we lose several people in our circles, and its a damned shame...

I spend nearly everyday trying to talk somebody down and provide a solution to a sober and healthy life. And I almost always walk away defeated, but there are a few success stories, and for that alone I will continue to help whenever I can. You just can't help those that are unwilling to be helped. So don't give me any BS about addiction being a disease. I'm no fool, it is what is.

And what is it? A CHOICE!

R.I.P. my brothers and sisters. I hope it was everything you dreamed it would be! You will never be forgotten, and I'll see you on the other side! Much love!
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