LAST October 14, 2019, I was at Joji Ilagan Career Center Foundation to talk about the effects of substance abuse to college students. The half-day session was quite serious, and it was good that the students and administrators were interested and receptive in knowing the dangers of drug addiction. What is inspiring was at the end of the talk, a lot of the participants approached and thanked me for the knowledge they have gained.

Five days after that, I did another talk on the same topic, but this time to elementary and high school students of Barangay 31-D. The crowd is full of energy, with too many questions out of curiosity. But I like the way they shared about their lives as well as their young insights. I have learned that younger people today are stronger, and they speak their minds. At the end of the talk, I even heard somebody said "Sulongna ta, no to drug addiction!"

Sometimes, people both young and old try to use illegal drugs because they feel that their lives are intolerably dull and painful, and they use drugs to take away their sorrow. They forget that illegal drugs are self-destructive. I guess people should need to understand that anything that inspires addiction is harmful because it can lead to disconnection and isolation as well as emotional paralysis.

Certainly, I can say that the decision to take drugs is indeed an error of judgment. So, everyone who tries to play this game loses! So, why try when you know you'll never win even from the start?