OVER the past two weeks the Kingdom has been focusing intensively on educating the public about the problem of drug abuse. We used to believe that this problem was one that only affected others, but unfortunately in recent years we have seen that this scourge has hurt many of our own families.
Dr. Abdulrahman Al-Qurashi is the author of three books on drug abuse. He has been participating extensively in the Kingdom’s fight against drug abuse not only through his writing but also by lecturing and advising both the general public and health professionals on the seriousness of the problem the society is facing and the best methods to combat it.
Dr. Al-Qurashi is by profession an associate professor at King Faisal University, College of Medicine and Medical Sciences in Dammam. He spends his days working as the chairman of the microbiology department there, but after hours he has become deeply involved in investigating and combating the misery caused by drug abuse. It is an interest that he has had since his high school days and one that took on even greater significance while he was studying abroad for his advanced university degrees.
"It was during the time that I was studying English before beginning my master’s program, that I witnessed firsthand the corruption cause by drugs and alcohol," explained Al-Qurashi. "I was in Denver, Colorado and being a religious man, I was shocked at how some Saudis became completely taken over by drug and alcohol abuse. Frankly, the environment was not healthy. The dormitories were co-ed and there were parties every night. Drugs were readily available. People came up and offered them to me while I was using public transportation and even on street corners. It was much harder to avoid corruption than to be taken in by it. There was absolutely no red line that they would not cross. For a significant number of supposed students, studies became secondary to abusing themselves in every possible way."
Unable to sleep due to the blasting music and disgusted with the entire scene at the dormitory, after a few weeks Al-Qurashi requested that the university find an American family willing to host him at their home. This was a more suitable living arrangement for a devout Muslim who needed to focus on his studies. Based on his own personal experiences and on similar reports from other colleagues, Al-Qurashi advises Saudi parents to consider not allowing their children to study abroad unless the students are married and their spouses will accompany them. He feels that husbands and wives can provide the best support for each other in an unfamiliar, difficult environment.
Al-Qurashi is also a strong advocate of the campaigns to discourage cigarette smoking. He has documented the links between cigarette smoking, alcohol consumption and drug abuse, and feels that Saudi society still underestimates the danger of tobacco.
"Smoking a cigarette is often a person’s first step toward abuse of the physical self and toward the conditioning of the brain to crave other addictive substances. The nicotine in tobacco is a powerfully addictive drug, although many people do not recognize it as such," said Al-Qurashi. "In fact, studies have shown that nicotine is one of the most addictive substances on earth. It is strange that we have outlawed and shunned many other products because we have found them to be harmful to our health, but every day in our society there are young people who smoke cigarettes for the first time — even though we know the dangers associated with tobacco."
In addition to tobacco use, Al-Qurashi said that in Saudi society glue sniffing is one of the main entry points for youngsters into the culture of drug abuse. He has personally seen teenagers out on the streets and in recreation areas throughout the Kingdom engaged in communal glue sniffing. While it may not sound like much, inhaling the vapors from the chemicals in glue causes significant physiological damage including irreversible brain damage. He believes that parents should teach their children about the dangers of glue sniffing since their peers may promote the activity as being harmless. Parents should also be on the lookout for signs of inhalant abuse in their children such as frequent headaches, listlessness, poor performance at school, unusual numbers of empty tubes of glue or spray cans, and unusual odors on clothes or hair. Parents who know where their teenagers are, who their friends are and who maintain open paths of communication with their children, are less likely to have their families touched by the misery of substance abuse.
Unfortunately, a safe home environment cannot totally protect us from the perils of drug abuse. The Kingdom’s streets and highways can become danger zones not only due to drivers with poor skills but also due to the drivers who take drugs and then get behind the wheel. There have been horrific accidents in the Kingdom caused by long-haul truck drivers using drugs to stay awake in an attempt to cut the coast to coast travel time. Al-Qurashi advises people to be aware that such dangers exist and to be especially cautious if a nearby vehicle begins moving in an erratic manner. In these days of mobile telephones it is easy to report the location, description and plate number of such a vehicle but some drivers are unwilling to get involved.
Families in the Eastern Province face difficult challenges from substance abuse. It is very easy for primary breadwinners in the Eastern Province to travel abroad for the weekend, use illicit substances, especially alcohol, and then return on Saturday to their jobs. In these circumstances children may not see their fathers for three or four days each week, and the emotional and financial harm to the family is serious.
"It is hard to control the movements of grown men," said Al-Qurashi. "However, it makes me ill when I see parents willingly providing passports and funds to youngsters who could easily be restricted from such depravity. I must question the reasoning in those parents’ minds. Do they think that helping their sons engage in actions that are completely against Islam and its values is the way to manhood? Would they want men who participate in such activities to marry their daughters? I have my doubts. Usually one of the first things families in the Kingdom try to ascertain about a prospective bridegroom is whether he has a history of drug or alcohol abuse."
Despite his disgust with substance abuse, Al-Qurashi does not believe that punishment is the best way to deal with the problem. He feels that there must be a much stronger emphasis on education and also early treatment for alcoholics and addicts.
"In Bahrain, they have a program where former drug addicts go around to schools and tell how drug abuse damaged their lives. We urgently need a similar program here," Al-Qurashi commented. "While drug abuse is more prevalent in men, we now have female addicts. This trend shows an attack at the very foundation of our society. The staff at Al-Amal Hospitals throughout the Kingdom are doing their best but they only have space to take the most serious cases. The attitude toward psychiatry, psychologists and social work has changed in recent years. Many people are actively seeking psychological help and counseling but not enough is available. Every major hospital in the Kingdom should have community outreach programs to tackle the problem of substance abuse. After the initial recovery phase addicts and alcoholics need community support in order to keep them from relapsing."
Al-Qurashi insisted that the only way to overcome the problem of substance abuse is for the issue to receive recognition and support at all levels and in all areas of Saudi society. The needed support from health professionals and law enforcement is apparent. He also urged universities to do research into the problem and develop preventive programs and treatments targeted toward the Kingdom’s young population. Families must work harder to educate themselves on this issue. They must be more proactive in dealing with their youngsters and face a substance abuse problem at its earliest phase, not hope it will disappear. Religious leaders must speak out regularly on drug and alcohol abuse. They could also be leaders of education and support programs.
"One of the most important steps in overcoming the problem of substance abuse in this society is to admit that it exists," said Al-Qurashi. "We cannot treat what we will not acknowledge. I ask families what is better — to get help for your addicted, sick relative now or to wait until the situation has turned into a total disaster and the authorities become involved? I think the answer is obvious."