|
Let’s take a break from the hoax of man-made “global warming” that has hoax followers wringing their hands and look at some real statistics that should frighten everyone and goad us into action.
During this holiday season many will take trips. Some will never return alive. Of those who die from traffic fatalities, 50 percent will be associated with alcohol or other drug abuse on the part of the party causing the crash.
This month in Greenville, 180,000 individuals will abuse drugs. Two hundred of these individuals will be trying drugs for the first time, and 17 people will be killed in an accident involving alcohol or another drug.
By the time Greenville teens graduate from high school and head off to college, 58 percent of them have consumed alcoholic beverages at least once.
This week in Greenville as schools begin “winter break,” 1,200 Greenville 8th graders will binge drink. One person will die from a drug overdose. Almost half of traffic accidents will be alcohol or drug related.
During this holiday week in Greenville, 1,415 teens will ride in an automobile with an intoxicated driver.
Practically every family is impacted by alcohol or other drug abuse. On any one day in Greenville, one person out of nine residents need help for a substance abuse problem, but many of their friends and relatives are in denial or they do not recognize the signs and symptoms of drug abuse.
Alcohol and other drugs are associated with 69 percent of drownings, 68 percent of manslaughter charges, 49 percent of murders, up to 50 percent of spousal abuse, 62 percent of assaults, 20-35 percent of suicides and 20-35 percent of rapes.
On a typical day in Greenville County, 165 people will be arrested for substance abuse related offenses. The average age of first time drug and alcohol use is between 10 and 12 years of age. Finally, alcohol or other drugs will be the leading factor in the death of people ages 15 through 24.
Despite all of the above, alcohol is a legal drug licensed by the government. Open containers of alcoholic beverages are not allowed in motor vehicles according to South Carolina Law, yet most automobile service stations are licensed by the state to sell cold beer to motorists. What is wrong with this picture?
Drug addiction is devastating to families and the money generated by the drug and alcoholic beverage industry is influencing the dilution of the Gospel preached from pulpits in the former Bible Belt. Too many of our families and churches are in denial and fail to acknowledge or deal with the problem. In many instances, those who recognize the problem of addiction and are willing to deal with it do not have the skills to deal with it effectively.
Wisdom In Living Ministry, Inc. is helping churches and other ministries learn to deal with these problems by training their staff members in the use of faith-based Biblical solutions to alcohol and other drug addiction.
To learn more about Wisdom In Living Ministry and the Beyond Recovery Program, see the article in this issue of The Times Examiner titled “Unique Drug Ministry Getting Results, Seeking Funds.”
You may also call Mr. Mark Stephan at (864) 834-9800 to learn how you may be of assistance to a Bible-based solution to the problems of addiction that gets positive and lasting results.
|
