"WWN" -- Drugs are bad, m'kay!

What can the media do to report more effectively on drugs in America? Or have we already looked at this topic from every single angle to the point that we've worn it raw?

Bringing a personal note to this topic, I have a 27-year-old nephew who continues to go in and out of prison thanks to an insatiable heroin addiction (Insatiable addiction? Is there any other kind?). I have two sisters who are in their late 40s and are finally getting their lives back on track after decades of various addictions (coke, crack, prescription meds, meth). One is four years' sober, and the other just hit the one-year sobriety mark ... for that, I'm quite proud and hopeful for their futures. And finally, dad was an alcoholic who died at the age of 55, partially due to the alcohol abuse.

We all know the Nuclear Family concept is largely a myth these days, so my experiences are not uncommon unfortunately. As such, I feel somewhat justified in calling out drugs as a universal topic warranting more attention. However, to date, the media tends to focus only on effects, and rarely causes.

Case in point -- each day you can see headlines as they pertain to gang violence, murders, drug busts, etc. Rarely do we get right down to the drug culture in America, and by that I mean the 'entire' culture, from the illicit to the prescribed. We're not dedicating any ink to understanding this problem from a macro level, again because it's easier to only report on a tactical, case-by-case basis.

I don't really blame the media for not going gangbusters on this, because I think we can agree that once you start to peel back a few layers, you'll find one massive elephant that's too large to be ignored. More specifically, any honest and comprehensive look at America's drug culture would have to include:

- How the big drug companies go about business
- How our federal government supports their interests ahead of its citizens
- How we've created an environment whereby mommy and daddy's pot phase just morphs into their painkiller phase
- The types of ethical sacrifices and shady deals law enforcement agencies have to make for the greater good of citizens

I know I'm bordering on propaganda with these comments, but these are collectively just the tip of the iceberg. There are too many variables to list in one blog, but suffice to say that we don't treat this topic with enough priority. It's the "skeleton in the closet" type stuff that no self-respecting Stepford would ever want to air out in public. Much like one would never say the names of fatal diseases out loud in the first half of the 20th century, no one wants to own this weight publicly or in a community fashion. The result is we internalize the topic, bury it and, worse yet, tend to view and analyze it in a myopic way (e.g., "No one understands this pain.").

Case in point #2 -- I quit discussing my nephew's addiction with him a long time ago, and I barely talk with my sisters about their own experiences. Are there questions I want to ask and things I'd like to say and should say? To the extent that they would open a meaningful and helpful dialog, most definitely.

I get the sense that the media has done extensive and extended coverage of these topics, but because they lack that enduring "right now" news factor, coverage remains a bit too transient. I'm also willing to bet that no one has done a complete job of covering the drug culture from soup to nuts. My speculation is risky, I know, which is why I once again call upon any readers to enlighten me to anything they've read in the press. Point being, there are more critical topics to pursue, and better ways of looking at news that's been done to death.

Coincidentally, the two topics I've presented thus far (steroids in baseball, drugs in America) are obviously linked, and they speak to an even bigger issue. Can you guess what it is? Yup, America has a self-image problem. Anyone want to tackle that one?