Drugs and Alcohol

Athough I've been residing in Wayne County, more specifically Goldsboro, NC, for 4 years I have been lucky enough to not have to deal with anything or anyone having major issues or problems with drugs and alcohol. But because this was a concern for me in highschool, having an alcoholic boyfriend, doing the research

and coming up with a treatment center, or two, wasn't too difficult for me. There are a few specifically in Goldsboro, but I'm sure there are many more all throughout Wayne County and the surrounding areas. The first facility I can across was Eastpoint, which is a comprehensive community mental health, developmental disability, and substance abuse agency. Eastpoint's main goal and slogan is, "renewing the mind, restoring the spirit," and with this target I have made a list of the programs they offer:

Alcohol and Drug Education Traffic School

Assessment and Treatment: Driving While Impaired

Criminal Justice Partnership Program

Intensive Outpatient Treatment

Homeless Substance Abuse Housing Services

In-patient Psychiatric Services

Non-Hospital Medical Detoxification Services

Alcohol and Drug Rehabilitation Services

Outpatient Substance Abuse Services

Mentally Ill Substance Abuse Program

Substance Abuse-Intensive Outpatient Services

Priority Admission for Pregnant IV Drug Users, Pregnant Women, and Injecting Drug Users

Another drug abuse facility in Goldsboro is Flynn Christian Home. Located on North George street, Flynn Christian Home is intended for long term residential recovery of a 30 day period or more. Substance abuse is the primary focus of Flynn and the programs offeres are substance abuse treatment, methadone maintenance, and halfway housing. Flynn Christian Home also has special prgrams designed for just men.

After reading about the treatment centers I went on to ask others what they thought about alcohol being the most dangerous drug in the United States. The first person I talked with was a 16 year old female who is currently attending high school in Champaign,IL. She is a three sprot athlete and ranks at the top of her graduating class. When asked to answer the question, she said that she believed that alcohol was indeed the most dangerous drug in the United States. Her reasoning was the alcohol is the most available drug out there and I quote her saying, "Sure, kids my age can find other drugs, some maybe without difficulty, but almost all of the kids I know can go home and get alcohol from the kitchen cabnet or out of the refridgerator." In my opinion, she makes a good point, high end dangerous drugs cand be found I'm sure, but you'd have to know where to look, who to ask, and above all have the money to get them. WIth alcohol, like she points out, there isn't a need to search for a "high" when you can get it at home 7 days a week.

The second and third person I asked were asked in a group conversation, so I feel that it's fiting that their answers be together as well. Now, wether or not this is relevant...we were having this discussion over a beer. No I'm just kidding. We were in the art building working on homework, two of us anyhow. One of the people I was talking to was a 24 year old male art student that I don't know much about, and the other was a 40 something year old male instructor with two children. I brought up the conversation casually after talking about a bunch of random things, and both seemes to agree that alcohol "could" be the most dangerous drug in the United States. The 24 yr. old male believed this because he said that alcohol is one of the most widely used drugs in mainstream america and because of the effects it has on you immediately that differ from the effects of marajuana. His opinion could somewhat be based of the fact that he had a close friend die in an alcohol related car accident. The othe male I asked, thought that alcohol was only dangerous if abused where as other drugs are dangerous all of the time. He didn't have a clear cut answer