By Jared Lorenz
We’ve all heard the high-minded rhetoric, but ultimately, the choice to use or not use any substance is an intensely personal one. Authorities on drug use point out that users are generally very well informed about the substances they are using.
Most drinkers know they are damaging their liver and killing brain cells. By now, most smokers know their habit contributes to their risk of cancer and heart disease, that it hardens their arteries and damages their circulatory system. Users of other substances, especially those in university community, have generally done what research they feel is necessary, and are making choices based on that.
And ultimately, that’s the choice each of us has to make. Even people who don’t use any drugs at all (coffe, tea, anyone?) are making an active choice to abstain. And those who use drugs are making choices, as individuals or groups, based on their own circumstances. I don’t believe, as part of the student government at University of Calgary, that it is my role to either condemn or condone drug use of any kind.
I envision our role as facilitators. We are here to support your ability to make the choices that you choose to make, not to ram our choices down your throat.
To that end, we present you with the Kick It campaign. If you’re a smoker that doesn’t want to smoke any more, then we have resources that can help you quit, including guest speakers, hypnotherapy, acupuncture, and all the resources that Health Services offers year-round.
Many drugs, nicotine particularly, are addictive, and their use fosters social, physical and psychological circumstances that encourage abuse.
The habit of a drug abuser is an expensive one, financially, psychologically, and physically. Cigarette smokers who are trying to quit face an addiction that is as tough to deal with as many hard drug addictions.
Consider the Kick It campaign as an invitation to make your own choice. There will be tons of resources available to you if you are choosing to kick a habit. While most of the resources are geared towards nicotine addiction, Health Services has resources available to help with any dependency, and the hypnotism and acupuncture sessions are open to anyone who is trying to kick the habit, whatever that habit might be.
For more information, contact me at the Students Union by phone or e-mail (220-3912 or suvpeve@ucalgary.ca).
Jared Lorenz
VP Events