Police are considering drugs to be the possible cause of death of at least 2 of the 5 individuals who attended the Closeup Forever Summer Concert. While this has yet to be confirmed, parents should have a serious discussion with their children about how these potentially fatal drugs look like innocent and fun pills but that there is nothing innocent and fun about them.
“Recreational” drugs
Vernon Sarne, the editor-in-chief of Top Gear Philippines took to Facebook to post a reminder for young kids to stay away from drugs. He started by contrasting the way drugs were perceived before and how they were successfully marketed to overcome the stigma.
“Nung bata ako, grabe ang stigma ng drugs. Yung tipong cough syrup ang titirahin mo para maka-high. Ang jologs ng dating.” (When I was a child, the stigma against drugs was extreme. To the point where you would use cough syrup to get high. It was very tasteless.)
“Ngayon, sobrang cool na ng image ng drugs. Recreational na nga ang tawag. (These days, the image of drugs is very cool. They already call it recreational.) You know how the drug syndidates have flourished? They’ve managed to remove the shame out of taking drugs and make it out to be some hip thing young people need to do in order to belong.”
A large part of marketing is how the product looks. Broadcaster Karen Davila tweeted a photo of ecstasy pills. Alarmingly, they look like children’s multi-vitamins: colorful pills shaped like the MasterCard logo, Lego bricks, Cookie Monster and even Hello Kitty. She asks, “How can partygoers think they’re deadly?” The MasterCard pill has already been linked with the death of a 17-year-old girl in England.
Nothing cool about drugs
He appeals to the youth who might be thinking that drugs are harmless and that the pushers care about them.
“As someone who grew up in a neighborhood of pushers and users, let me tell you there is nothing recreational and cool about drugs. Young kids, inuuto lang kayo ng nagbebenta sa inyo (the ones selling to you are just deceiving you). You think they care about your future — or even if you die while partying? Think again.”
He ended with this message: “You want to be cool? Obey your parents. So you can have a life worth celebrating and dancing for.”
We sincerely hope that Mr. Sarne, as the editor of a popular magazine about cars, has some influence over vulnerable kids and that more “cool” personalities will speak out against the use of illegal drugs. His original post can be found here.
READ: 5 Duterte promises Pinoy parents should be aware of
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