From an ex-actor, ex-model, ex-drug user

An open letter to all addicts (and their equally gullible parents):

ANO PA BANG KLASENG WARNING ANG HINIHINTAY NYO?

You are already dead! If your brain hasn’t been scrambled yet, if your body hasn’t begun to rot, if a bullet has not yet blown half of your head off… trust me, it’s only a matter of time! You have seen how this drug war has been going. Many have been killed and will continue to be killed whether it is done by police infiltrated with narco cops, members of drug syndicates who want you silenced, those who have a score to settle with you or whether it is done by legitimate police operations. But still, idiots like you continue taking drugs!!!

STUPID! What do you expect when this happens to you? You have broken the law! So now suffer the consequences! You cannot say they were not warned. You cannot say they were not aware! You cannot give that worn-out, lame excuse that you are just an occasional or functioning user. YOU ARE A STUPID ADDICT! PERIOD!

Stupid because you chose to live a life of crime! Stupid because you chose to be an outcast of society! Stupid because you chose to give up your career, your future, your hopes and dreams! Stupid because you chose to hurt the very people you should love and protect, your family! Stupid because you ignore the cries of pain from the people who care! You betray them and they become your number one victims. Stupid because you now avoid your real friends and choose to mingle with law breakers such as addicts like you, pushers, prostitutes, pimps, scammers, thieves and other criminals. Stupid because you have made drugs your “god” and now your entire life revolves around getting your next fix. And that’s all that matters now!

Isn’t this stupidity? From being a once caring, responsible and well-loved person, you have now lost all morality, become calloused and are now incapable of giving real love… UNLESS you get something in return.

And parents who cover up for their addicted loved ones? You are equally stupid and guilty of the sins of the addict. For by turning a blind eye and allowing your loved one to break the law, you are part of the problem. Until tragedy strikes! What did you expect? That it WON’T happen to your addict? And that you have the connections and means to get him/her out of that mess? Try getting him or her out from 6 feet underground! No amount of tears will resurrect a corpse! So don’t cry for injustice if your stupid addict is caught or killed!

Why do I say this with conviction? It’s because “I” was stupid once. And this is mostly my story, too. Sixteen years living in hell on earth is no longer acceptable. From the glitzy show biz world to sleeping in the slums, the streets, in jeepneys, in jail. I chose to change! And because of that CHOICE I became a rehab director for 10 years, and now give drug abuse talks, give free advice and referrals. This is now my mission, my advocacy. To help give hope to the hopeless. I am living proof that there is hope in recovery.

I CHOSE TO STOP BEING STUPID! And you addicts should too!

LITO GRUET
lgruet.kbp@gmail.com