RAISING AWARENESS ON PSYCHOACTIVE DRUG ABUSE

While many teens and young adults are kept busy with homework or a
job, school and social activities, many also find themselves with time
on their hands and not much to do except to gather with friends on
street corners, at malls or billiard halls.

Young people often find themselves experiencing pressure from peers to
try something they might not be ready for, not comfortable with, or
even afraid of, like cigarettes, alcohol, shoplifting, sex and drugs.

Serious social problems like drug abuse, crime and unwanted
pregnancies are affecting teens and young adults directly. In major
cities like Jakarta and others, they face hard choices every day, and
may be feeling pressures or urges that adults can't comprehend.

Society has learned enough over the decades to know that it's not
effective or realistic for parents, teachers or the government to try
simply to shield teenagers by telling them not to ask questions --
just say "No!" Instead, we need to make sure young people get the
facts about drugs, sex and disease, and make decisions with open eyes
- -- and provide them with a strong base of love and support.

Following are some of the basic facts with which we -- and our
children, students and friends -- should be familiar.

Lowdown on drugs

Plenty of psychoactive drugs -- substances that affect the normal
functioning of the central nervous system -- are readily available in
Indonesia. These include controlled substances like alcohol and
tobacco, various brands of painkillers, sleeping pills, sedatives and
diet pills, and magic mushrooms.

Then there are the illicit substances, including heroin,
methamphetamines, marijuana and ecstasy. Cocaine, LSD, hashish and
forms of opium other than heroin are not commonly available in Indonesia.

The three main groups of psychoactive drugs are stimulants,
depressants and psychedelics.

Using uppers, or stimulants, increases your heart rate and blood
pressure and reduces your appetite. Methamphetamines (known locally as
shabu-shabu) are very common in Indonesia. They can cause jitteriness,
aggressiveness and dilated pupils. Methamphetamine use also rots the
teeth.

Tobacco products contain the stimulant nicotine. In the long term,
smoking is devastating to the body and can kill you with heart or lung
disease, including lung cancer and other conditions.

People use these to feel more confident, energetic or excited. But
with an excessive dose, or in an extra-sensitive user, heart and blood
vessel problems as well as seizures are possible. Users also may feel
anxious, paranoid or confused. After just a few days of use -- often
not eating or sleeping -- a user will be completely exhausted.

Taking downers, or depressants, relaxes the muscles, dulls pain or
causes sleep. People may take depressants for other reasons, such as
to reduce anxiety, lower inhibitions or just to feel good. But there
are side effects like constipation, nausea, slurred speech and, in the
long run, sexual dysfunction.

Long-term or heavy use of alcohol does major damage to the liver,
heart, digestive system and brain, and is linked to several types of
cancer. The same is true for heroin and other opioids, which affect
almost every part of the body. And of course, a heroin overdose can
kill you.

Psychedelics, or hallucinogens, include magic mushrooms, marijuana and
ecstasy. Side effects can include nausea, dizziness and bloodshot eyes.

Ecstasy is common in Indonesia. Users say it gives them heightened
awareness, empathy with others and a desire to dance. But excessive
use or overdose can cause anxiety or seizures. Depression, suicide and
brain damage have been linked to ecstasy use.

Inhalants are also commonly used in Indonesia, as they are cheap and
widely available. But this is a very dangerous game.

Sniffing glue -- or metallic paints, gasoline and others -- can cause
excitement, dizziness and slurred speech. It can also cause loss of
consciousness, delirium or even coma, and can damage the lungs, brain,
liver, kidneys and blood cells.

Long-term effects

Drugs change the way a person thinks, feels and behaves -- so they are
not dealing with reality, or being themselves. With almost all drugs
there is the danger that while users are high or afterwards, they may
feel deeply depressed -- this may last a long time or even become a
permanent problem. Most teen suicides involve alcohol or drugs.

Taking any psychoactive drugs can lead to dependence -- an inability
to deal with reality without drugs. As with most drugs, the body
builds up a physical tolerance to it, so that users need more -- and
more often -- to generate the feeling they want. For many, this leads
to addiction.

Addicts can find themselves involved in crimes and taking deadly risks
to get their next dose. When their cash is gone, they often turn to
theft -- stealing even from family and friends -- or start injecting
the drugs to get a faster, stronger hit for a cheaper price, thus
risking overdose.

In desperation, due to peer pressure or just because they no longer
care about the consequences, users often share needles, risking
infection with HIV, hepatitis C and other dangerous blood-borne diseases.

Injecting drug users (IDUs) especially have become a serious concern
in Indonesia, due to the dramatic recent increases in the proportion
of IDUs infected with HIV.

According to AIDS Komunitas AIDS Indonesia (www.aids-ina.org), an
estimated 32 percent to 53 percent (average 41 percent) of IDUs in
Indonesia have contracted HIV or have developed AIDS. And of all
Indonesians living with AIDS, about half became infected through
injecting drug use.

In Jakarta, this is as high as 72 percent, compared to 28 percent in
Bali and less than 1 percent in Papua. In the latter, HIV has been
spread mostly by sexual contact.

Data provided by the Health Ministry reveals that, of all reported
cases of IDUs living with HIV/AIDS in Indonesia, seven out of 10 are
young people under the age of 30.

Once addicted, trying to quit is extremely hard, and withdrawal can be
excruciating. Seeing a friend or relative go through all this, and
trying to help them, can be just as difficult and hurtful.

Aside from the risks of overdose, addiction and health damage, people
who use drugs to avoid bad feelings or problems will not learn how to
cope with emotional pain and other issues in life.

Sources: Uppers, Downers, All Arounders by Inaba and Cohen (2000);
Ade Aulia Erwin, IDU Officer DKI Jakarta; Injecting Drug Users Unit,
Aksi Stop AIDS (ASA) program, Family Health International-Jakarta; Internet

More information and help

* Yayasan Cinta Anak Bangsa (YCAB) Free counseling 0-800-1-NO-DRUG
(663784); www.ycab.org

* Yayasan Harapan Permata Hati Kita (YAKITA) Jabodetabek: (0251)
243069, 243077; Aceh (0651) 23213; Bali (0361) 465203; Bogor (women's
center) (0251) 244375; Kupang (0380) 821425; Makassar (0411) 873658;
Surabaya (031) 5039228; www.yakita.or.id

* U.S. National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA): www.nida.nih.gov

* The Partnership for a Drug-Free America: www.drugfree.org