What to know on the Prevention of Drug Misuse and Addiction

Tomas Franco Tagra

SATURDAY, November 21 — Selected Senior High School students and staff attended a webinar on the awareness of drugs and substance abuse. The webinar looked upon the aspects regarding the use of drugs and its effects on students and people in general; particularly, the harmful and long-lasting impacts it has on one’s physical and mental capability.

The program was hosted by Ms. Marinella Hernandez from The Office of Students Affairs, wherein she had stated the objectives of the webinar and introduced Dr. Nikko Aldrich H. Castillo, the Clinic Head to open the program with his remarks. He was able to share with the participants a short introduction of what to look forward to regarding the topic, and small insights into the world of narcotics and substance abuse.

After his short opening remarks, Ms. Marinella then introduced the guest speaker for the webinar, he’s no other than Dr. Bernard M. Regalado - a Licensed Physician accredited by the Dangerous Drugs Board, a Medical Director, and the Head of Drug Testing Laboratory in the Asia Pacific Medical and Diagnostics, Inc. His lecture, entitled ”Drug and Substance Abuse Awareness and Prevention/Drug Testing Orientation”, was intended to discuss the nature of using illegal drugs, thus, differentiating said substances and drugs according to its nature, and the harmful effects it has on a person. His lecture opened with statistical data provided by a national census, wherein it showed the numbers of the reported cases concerned with the continuing war on drugs in the Philippines ever since the start of the Duterte Administration. He also stated that over 20,000 individuals have been executed through final rulings or extrajudicial ways, with over 1.2 million individuals surrendering to avoid being targeted themselves by the government’s effort on the war on drugs. Dr. Bernard, however, questions the decision of these 1.2 million individuals stating: “Kusang loob nga ba? O napilitan kasi ayaw nila makabilang sa more than 20,000 na namatay na?”. He then compared the number of people in the Philippines (approximately 105 million), and the estimated number of people involved in dangerous substance abuse (3.5 million). With that data, he stated that 3 out of 100 individuals are likely to be synonymous with the use of drugs and illegal substances.

With that information, he shared that 1.2% of younger children in the country are drug and substance users. He stated common problems among the youth such as Anxiety Disorders, Depression, bullying and other forms of harassment, lack or absence of parental guidance, peer pressure, that lead to high-risk behaviors such as smoking, alcoholism, drug abuse, gambling, and other forms of addiction. He then elaborated that when taking drugs, there are certain things to keep in mind: medical supervision, indication and purpose, dosage and amount, duration of use, and contraindications and adverse reactions, that the usage of drugs and substances will give to people.

Furthermore, he also explained the psychological dependence, addiction, and tolerance one might experience due to using such illegal substances. He also defined legal social, such as nicotine and caffeine; legal medicinal, such as the drugs authorized by the government for sale which can be bought over-the-counter (OTC) or thru a doctor’s prescription; and dangerous drugs, including those listed in the schedules annexed to the 1961 single convention on Narcotic Drugs. Dr. Regelado went on to explain the evolution of smoking, and its harmful effects on people, young adults in particular. Also, he presented the rationale for conducting randomized drug tests on people.

He wraps up his lecture with a life lesson from Muhammad Ali, who suffered from Parkinson’s Disease resulting from prolonged head trauma from boxing, and said that no matter what happened in life, always strive to love God, and never use and abuse drugs and substances. He then ended his talk with a freestyle rap, which focused on the summary of his lecture, and the importance of saying “NO” to drugs.

Subsequently, when the open forum of the webinar commenced, he was asked questions from the Letran Senior High School Faculty and students.

When asked what his thoughts were on the legalization of medical marijuana on the western side of the planet, he stated: “Yes, for medical use. So ito, kaya siya na legalize sa countries na binanggit mo (U.S.A and Canada), dahil pinag-aralan mabuti and very strict ang regulations and pag-comply.” However, he stated that the usage of medical marijuana should go through a strict compliance and strict medical use under the supervision of experts. And that younger people use drugs not for the establishment and medical use, but rather due to peer pressure, curiosity, or even personal problems in the family. “Iba ang sagot doon, hindi marijuana, there’s more to life than taking marijuana.”, Dr. Regelado said. “Kung meron man established use of ang marijuana, kung baga sampu ang mga pwedeng gamitin mga gamot, maaaring pang-huli ang marijuana because of potential for abuse, dependence, and drug tolerance”, he added.

Furthermore, his thoughts on the victims of second-hand smoking from drugs and cigarettes were that each person is given a choice, to get out and leave, or stay and suffer the consequence when a drug test arrives. His thoughts on vape were of a more regulated and unadvisable approach. He stated on highly concentrated areas of vape users, “May legislative actions na ang mga mambabatas sa lugar na iyon na i-regulate ang mga vape.”. He said this is due to some parts of vapes containing nicotine, “dapat hindi nag va-vape ang below 18 years old, and dapat yung vape din (ay) may warning, dahil mas high nicotine rating ito. And yes, dahil ginagamit rin ang vape and jule sa marijuana. There’s more to life than (in) vaping.”.

Finally, when asked what to do when a friend is using drugs and substances, Dr. Regalado recommends communicating with that person. “There has to be somebody that can reach out to that person, siyempre kakausapin mo siya at the time na sober na siya”, he stated. When dealing with who you suspect to be a potential drug user, it is important to note, according to Dr. Regalado, to know firsthand the background of his/her problem and to formulate strategies to solve the problem. “It’s just like research, you know the problem, you identify the problem, you design a strategy.”, he added that drug use has many root causes for a person. “Pero ang pinaka effective diyan ang medical. (Okay) kausapin, alamin ang problema, kung may ma-address sa kanyang environment, family, work base or sa school, pero level up dito, kailangan a person who is trained, a doctor or medical personnel, or professional counselor, na para maka-address dito, depende sa level ng use niya.”.

After the question and answer portion, the event was concluded as he received a Certificate of Appreciation given by the Department of Student Affairs, to show their recognition and appreciation for his time and effort for the said program.