CJ+H’s+Final+AmEx+Speech+2016


 * Out of Schlitz **

The room spins around you, around, around, around, around. It won’t stop. When you are finally able to right the spinning room you glance at the television, blaring at a ridiculous level. What you see is two, no three, no two Amy Poehlers. It makes no sense so you shut your eyes. No thoughts filter through your brain, but that’s what you wanted wasn’t is? To eliminate all those nagging thoughts, the ones that keep you awake and torment you.

When you come to again you are feeling quite sick. You fight it for what seems like an eternity, but in reality the little battle you were waging is a rout. You rise with a great effort, almost falling, and stand swaying for a moment. The sickness hits you again and you stagger to the bathroom and fall on your knees. You retch and retch and gag when there is nothing to retch any more, kneeling, praying to the porcelain god.

You lay down and press your cheek against the tile of the bathroom floor because it is cool, and you feel like shit. The world is only coming through in waves.

When you come to again you are still lying on the floor. You realize that you must have vomited again for there is a small puddle lying near your face. Only later will you realize it is lucky that you were on your side, that you could have drowned aspirating your own vomit had you been lying on your back.

You slowly, slowly stand up. You make your way to the front door and out, searching for your keys the whole time. You find them as you stagger down the porch to your car. You get in, turn the key in the ignition and your off, focusing hard as you drive.

When you wake up the next morning light, painful light is filtering through the shades. Your head throbs and throbs and your mouth tastes like one gigantic cotton ball. Groggily you get up, down some water, a handful of Advil, and a coffee hopping that you’ll feel better soon. You don’t remember how you got home, but you silently thank God that you did.

Maybe the first time you were that drunk you swore you’d never be again, maybe even the second time too, but by this point you don’t even kid yourself any more. You hate it. You didn't use to hate it, you loved it like nothing you'd ever loved before. It was the one thing that was always there for you, the one thing that pulled you through. It saved you, but now you know that quite the opposite is true, its damning you to be held captive by it forever.

The day wears on and you hate yourself. You think about it, you think about booze. You hate it yet you love it at the same time. You don’t want it, yet you need it. Pretty soon you find it in your hand. Maybe its only 3, maybe its only noon, but hell, its six o’clock somewhere.

Its safe to say that for the majority of the people in this classroom alcoholism is not a problem that you struggle with, but for 30% of Americans alcohol abuse is a major problem. And that’s not even getting into the other forms of addiction that plague us.

You probably think this is the part where I go into an entire canned speech about how dangerous booze is and never to use it. That I’m not going to do. I’d be an idiot to believe that alcohol and other drugs can’t be used in moderation, they absolutely can. That’s part of the problem with our health education, but that’s a whole other speech.

What I will say is that addiction is a serious problem. I can tell you that it is not something that you want to mess around. The problem is that at the outset it won't feel like alcohol is ruining your life. In fact quite the opposite will be true, it will feel like it is saving your life. But in the long run independence is far more rewarding than the release. It is not as sweet as it seems. It can turn people violent and turn people that you thought you knew into completely different individuals.

Not to mention that the available treatment programs are so ineffectual they may as well be considered worthless. Twelve step programs are the most common means of attempting to help alcoholics recover. The most well know of these is AA, Alcoholics Anonymous. Somewhat unbelievably these programs have a success rate of only about 5 to 10%. How can that even be considered acceptable. Even more ridiculously, a study conducted in the 1960's considering LSD as a means of curing alcoholism had significantly more success than any of the accepted practices today. That trial had a 59% success rate in either eliminating or significantly curbing alcohol use of patients who received one dose of acid. Thats not even getting into methods for combating other forms of addiction. Acomplia, a cannabinoid agonist drug, was used to reduce the desire to use marijuana, until it was found that almost 100% of people using this drug committed suicide. Yeah, it just so happens that the cannabinoid system, the part of the brain being blocked by Acomplia, is actually a vital component of cognitive function and wellbeing. So what the hell? Why is it that there are no effective means for combating addiction? You really mean to tell me that a person struggling with alcohol abuse will have better luck reforming by dropping acid than going to AA, and that drugs used to combat addiction often result in suicide? That must change, there has to be better options than what is currently being offered.

The America that I want to grow old in is an America without addiction. An America without DUI’s and overdoses. A nation where people who are struggling are able to get effective help, and are backed by a sincere and loving support system. I want to live in an America that is not held captive by addiction. I want to grow old and stand up with my brothers and sisters in freedom, true freedom. http://www.npr.org/2014/03/23/291405829/with-sobering-science-doctor-debunks-12-step-recovery
 * Sources **

http://healthland.time.com/2012/03/09/lsd-may-help-treat-alcoholism/