Online News Day or Knight - Official news site of North Penn High School - 1340 Valley Forge Rd. Lansdale, PA

The Knight Crier

Online News Day or Knight - Official news site of North Penn High School - 1340 Valley Forge Rd. Lansdale, PA

The Knight Crier

Online News Day or Knight - Official news site of North Penn High School - 1340 Valley Forge Rd. Lansdale, PA

The Knight Crier

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Celebrity attention clouds drug related death problem in America

Way too often one will hear stories on the news about drug overdose, usually, if not always, it pertains to celebrities. The country briefly mourns this loss. People proclaim that it is such a tragedy; the world has lost another great talent. It’s a natural inclination to overlook the bad things about somebody and focus on the good, especially when a person dies young, but more often than not when a celebrity dies of drug overdose our society overlooks the fact that drugs were involved. But when hearing of some less famous or less privilged individuals that died of the same cause, society could care less. We look down on them and say they were lazy; that they might have even deserved to die.

Death by drug-overdose is a growing issue in the United States.  The death rate has increased 102% from 1999-2010.  In addition, drug overdose was the leading cause of injury death in 2010. And drug overdose killed more people in the 25-64 age group than motor vehicle accidents. It seems the only time society wants to focus on the issue is when a celebrity dies and even than most of the media attention is focused on what could have been and not the simple facts- drug use is a real issue and one that affects many people.

It’s a topic that can easily be ignored since it’s one of those things that the general population is more comfortable burying their heads in the sand over than talking about, but ignoring it doesn’t make it go away. And I think it’s also time that society stops condoning celebrities.  Illegal drug-use is never okay, but if one tries to justify it, the argument might be that ordinary people, the ones society looks down upon, are more justified in there use because they have more stress and “everyday things”  to worry about. Of course there are better ways to handle stress, but sometimes the little trifling things are enough to push one over the edge.  Moreover, people in the economically disadvantaged portion of our population generally are not there on their own account and may begin to feel trapped without hope for their future and because of that will turn to drugs. Moreover drug use is part of the street culture and many people are exposed to it at a young age.

Instead of focusing our attention on celebrities, the attention should be focused on everyday people. Those are the ones who need help the most.  And compared to celebrities, there are many more regular people struggling with the issue. If help can be provided to them society as a whole would be better off.

 

Statistcal information courtesy of:  http://www.cdc.gov/homeandrecreationalsafety/overdose/facts.html

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