The Day We Stop Buying is the Day They Stop Selling

Those are the words of Vicente Castelo Sotto III, former Chairman of the Dangerous Drugs Board and now Senator of the Republic of the Philippines. I subscribe to his words and found wisdom in his slogan. The most powerful weapon of the community in the war against drugs is for the people not to buy drugs.

We cannot convince or force the Drug Syndicates to stop their illegal drug business because almost everyone makes money. The Pillars of the Criminal Justice System is dilapidated, this is shown by the never ending allegations that our law enforcers, members of the prosecutorial arm of the State and the Judiciary have been penetrated by the drug syndicates.

Our weapon is to deny them of the demand, we will fight the syndicates not with guns or bid them with money but we fight them in the streets, school rooms, churches, homes and everywhere where there are people. We will campaign for people not to use drugs. The only reason why drug syndicates continue to sell drugs is because people continue to demand for it.

Let us all be warriors in the war against drugs. Fathers and mothers should defend their family from illegal drugs by keeping their members from using drugs. Ironically, it is the people who boisterously criticize government efforts whose sons and daughter are drug users. They transfer their guilt of failing to keep their children from using illegal drugs to complainers and whiners.

We cannot straighten the pillars of the criminal justice system especially when the corruption or apathy is with its leaders. As far as the country’s executive department, our President has never mentioned about the nation’s problem on illegal drugs. No one in the Executive Department is taking charge in the war against drugs, but this should not deter or stop us from doing something. Our weapon is to continually and never ending campaigning for our children and youth and even the old (hope you could visit rehabilitation centers and see senior citizens there struggling to stop using drugs).

A barangay, city or municipality could be drug free when everyone will stop buying drugs, because drugs are simply a business. Drug syndicates are not philanthropists. They sell drugs to make money, that is their mission. That is why they will simply stop selling drugs when nobody will buy them. It is also very stupid for parents and other family members to always justify why their sons, husbands or other members use drugs because the drug peddlers and manufactures have not been arrested. Why is this a stupid argument? Because you have not seen a drug addict being forced to use drugs.

A drug dependent is always a willing victim, he will do everything to find and buy drugs. The challenge of the family and the community is to make these people stop buying and using drugs. It may seem melodramatic, but there are those who are hooked into drugs because they could not find LOVE within the family.

My question now, When was the last time you kiss and said I LOVE YOU to your wife, husband, son or daughter?

Again, I am pleading YOU, to join the MARCH FOR A DRUG FREE CEBU this November 15 (Saturday), 2014, Assembly time at 1:00 pm, at the Fuente Osmeña Circle Area, then proceed to Plaza Independencia.

See you there: Drug Free Cebu, My Duty, Your Duty, Everybody’s Mission.

Image Credit: www.boracayinformer.com

About the Author: Clarence Paul V. Oaminal is a lawyer and author of ‘The Textbook on The Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002’. He is the Vice-chairman and Undersecretary of the Dangerous Drugs Board and is the current adviser and presiding officer of Cebu City Anti-Drug Abuse Council. He also hosts the local advocacy program ‘Krimen ug Drugas’ in CCTN Channel 47.