Preliminary codes were derived during data analysis, and at the end four major factors were found. These factors were as follows:
3.1. Family
The majority of the participants considered the role of family as the most important factor in triggering their first drug use experience. They believed parents’ or other family members’ drug use was the key factor triggering their attempt to try drugs for the first time. A participant, highlighting the influential role of his father’s addiction, had the following to say about his first time trying drugs:
“My father is a truck driver and he takes drugs every night. I was curious and wanted to know what it was that he is taking and I didn’t know where I could find and take it (other than home). In fact, I was 16 when I took drugs for the first time. I was home and decided to eat some of the opium that my father had. I used to swallow a pellet of opium every day and then it increased to 1.5 mithqa (a unit of mass equal to 4.25 grams), and after that, I started taking other drugs. I might have never touched drugs if my father had not been a drug addict.” (P 12 M)
This powerful quote stresses the key role of family. However, the importance of family is more obvious when the family, while taking drugs, has a positive attitude towards drugs and implies this positive attitude to the children. A participant said that her family believed in the curative power of drugs and that’s the reason she tried drugs for the first time. She says:
“I had pain on my sides and since my mother was an opium addict, she told me to have a puff or two to soothe the pain. I did it, felt well and it was the start to my taking drugs.” (P 19 W)
This kind of family attitude towards drugs was stated by most participants, both males and females. Other participants stated that the addiction of their siblings was an important factor in triggering their first drug use experience. As an instance, one participant said that his brother’s addiction and attitude towards drugs played a key role in his trying drugs for the first time. He said:
“I was sick and had pain in my kidneys. My brother was taking heroin and he offered me to try it. He used to say that it’s OK to take drugs, citing himself as an example. He said it’s fine if I do not take opium; instead I could take heroin to feel better. I took heroin and indeed I felt better.” (P 14 M)
In addition, some participants said that apart from using drugs, their family members were selling drugs, which in turn made access to drugs easy for them, paving the way for their first drug use experience and continuance. A participant described his first drug use experience as:
“My brother was a drug addict and he started selling drugs at home. I had never tried any drugs before, neither cigarette, nor opium, nor bang or any other drugs. I took heroin for the first time and I got addicted to it.” (P 6 M)
It is self-evident from these lines that easy access to drugs can precipitate the potential of addiction for individuals. Some of these participants had been offered drugs earlier (by friends, for example) yet they had never taken drugs before. They had only started taking drugs once their family members were selling drugs at home and therefore they had ample access to them. A participant said:
“My mother was an opium addict and she was selling heroin. Although, my school friends were taking drugs and offered me to take drugs too, yet I never did drugs. However, since my mother was selling drugs, I got curious and tried some of the drugs she was selling. After that, whenever I wanted to take drugs, I would use some of what my mother was selling.” (P 11 W)
Hence, selling of drugs within the family contributes considerably to addiction and its continuance, the reason being that individuals had easy access to drugs with the least price or often for free.
According to some participants, the role of family was so influential that although they were married and lived independently from their parents, their occasional interactions with their families made it easier for their first drug use experience and consequently they, as well as their spouses, became addicted. A participant had the following to say here:
“When I was single, my father, brother, and elder sister used to take drugs but I never did. When I got married, my brother and sister came to my house and occasionally took heroin. My husband and I tried it once and that was enough to become addicted to it.” (P 8)
These profound comments indicate that family can lead to addiction in many ways.
3.2. Friends
Many of the participants believed their friends were the reason for their first drug use experience and addiction. Despite the miscellaneous details of their stories, they’re obviously common in one aspect, namely friends’ role. The first drug use experience of some of the participants’ dated back to high school and was triggered by their high school friends. Here’s a participant’s description of his first drug use experience:
“My school friends were addicted and I was unaware of that. One day, I saw them taking opium and since they didn’t want me to tell on them to the principal, they offered me to try it, as they said it’s not dangerous. As a matter of fact, I had never touched opium or any other drugs till then and I didn’t know what it could do to me. That day, I took a pellet with them and I was dizzy for three days. After that, I would go and take drugs with them regularly. I didn’t take it for one day, and once I realized it’s intolerable, I purchased some opium and took it.” (P 4M)
The role of friends is more obvious as individuals are under the influence of their friends’ propaganda of drugs, and improvidently accept what they say. A participant explained his drug use in this way:
“I used to work at the port and deliver goods. One of my friends offered me opium and said I wouldn’t feel drowsy if I took it. They said it would be ok to take a puff of the opium and it would refresh me, and I can carry the loads easier. They insisted that I have a puff but I resisted. I said no, I cannot, I have just got married. They used to say once or twice wouldn’t hurt and then I succumbed to the pressure. And finally, with an occasional puff or two, I got addicted.” (P 5M)
These comments indicate that lack of information and unawareness of the consequences of drug use will make individuals more prone to addiction to drugs.
Other participants took drugs with friends during military service and their addiction progressed considerably during their term (two years) and they had tried and became addicted to different drugs. A participant said:
“I knew nothing about drugs before military service and my family would never think that I would become addicted. During the military service, I started smoking and tried drugs for the first time. I was missing my family and wanted to abscond from the military base to visit my family. My friends offered me cigarettes and said to me it would soothe my pain. I smoked cigarettes for three months but after a while I developed tolerance to cigarettes, therefore, I started taking the black substance (opium). When I was home on furlough, I would take methadone pills to hide my addiction from the family.” (P 15M)
Making friends during married life, however, is an important factor, which has to be taken into consideration. Interacting with addicted friends can make the couple prone to addiction. A participant said:
“Back when we were newlyweds, we visited our friends and occasionally took opium for fun, but gradually, it turned into an addiction for us both.” (P 6W)
Participants believed it is essential that individuals be careful in selecting friends, as they have seen unwelcome consequences of ignoring this fact. A participant described his friends as:
“The first person, who introduced me to drugs was my friend, the person, who boasted camaraderie and support.” (P 8M)
3.3. Spouse
Another influential factor, claimed by some of the female participants, however, was the addiction of their partner. Once husbands took drugs, their wives put them under pressure to quit. Therefore, the husbands offered drugs to their wives to minimize this pressure. A participant said:
“My family has never touched drugs, not even cigarettes. After the wedding, my husband and I moved from Kerman to Isfahan. At first, I didn’t know my husband is addicted because he took drugs outside home. After a while, he started taking drugs at home. It was too difficult for me and he kept sassing me disrespectfully. I was under mental pressure and couldn’t tolerate it. I wanted to move back to Kerman and be near my family, but my husband offered me drugs and wanted to make me feel well. However, the bitter fact was that he wanted to embroil me with drugs so that I would stay with him and couldn’t move back to my family.” (P 12W)
In some cases, husbands forced their wives to take drugs and embroiled them in addiction to prevent them from applying for divorce. A participant stressed her husband’s role in her addiction:
“When I got married, I realized my husband was addicted so I wanted to get a divorce. But he forced me to take heroin and I got addicted. I was reluctant to take heroin but he told me to try it just once. That one time was enough for me to get addicted to heroin.” (P 18 W)
The problem doubles, however, when the individual has taken the drug, ironically, by force but gets addicted to it and continues taking it. The following participant was a prime example:
“After my husband offered me drugs and I took it for the first time, it grew on me and I asked him every day for drugs.”(P 18W)
Participants who had the experience of remarriage, after divorcing their first spouse, had married addicted people and unfortunately, they had started taking other drugs as well. One participant said:
“I divorced my first husband and remarried, and this time, through my second husband, I got addicted to crystal meth.” (P 3W)
These quotes stress the important role of spouses in the addiction of individuals. Accordingly, participants believed that it is essential to get to know their spouse before marrying them. One participant, who considered her husband’s role in her addiction said:
“When two people decide to get married, they must first get to know each other well and then proceed.” (P 15W)
3.4. Stress
Some of the participants pointed that stressful events triggered their first drug use experience. One stressful event, according to some participants, was the bereavement of parents and they had chosen to take drugs in order to soothe their pain. She said:
“My husband had been taking drugs for over three years but I never touched drugs during that period. When my mother died I suffered a mental breakdown and at the same time my husband was taking crack. One day, he was taking drugs and I asked if I could try it also to see what it tastes like that is keeping him so dependent on it. He wouldn’t allow me to do so, saying that I would get addicted to it. It was me, who insisted and finally I took a puff and felt relieved. It was so pleasing and that’s how I got addicted to drugs.” (P 15 W)
Imprisonment of husband was yet another stressful event in the life of some participants and in order to ameliorate their troubles, they had started taking drugs. A participant said in this regard:
“Once we were officially married, my husband was imprisoned due to a street fight he had had earlier. During his term in prison, my brother was taking drugs and since I was deeply depressed, I didn’t want to continue thinking about my husband and gradually started taking drugs alongside with my husband. My brother was reluctant in allowing me to take drugs but I was too adamant and wanted to see how it tasted. I was curious and desperate to make myself feel better.” (P 5W)
Another participant’s description of his addiction was:
“I was engaged and then we broke up. When we broke up, I started taking opium with my friends. I did it because I wanted to feel better. I thought after a couple of times, I can stop taking drugs but I didn’t know it is addictive.” (P 11M)
These comments demonstrate that some participants volunteered to take drugs to cope with and overcome the stressful events of their lives, and not only had they not resolved their problem, but also another, bigger trouble, namely addiction, had emerged. A participant said:
“I tried drugs to soothe my pains but that never happened. I tried solving my problem by another problem. It never helped, but I kept telling myself that it does.” (P 13 W)
Finally, some participants referred to their physical pain and claimed that instead of visiting a doctor or taking painkillers, they had started taking drugs to alleviate their pain. For instance, one of the participants commented:
“I was ill with a pain in my leg, so I took drugs to soothe the pain. Whenever I felt pain, I would start searching for drugs. I took drugs instead of going to a doctor.” (P 7M)
Therefore, we can see that individuals’ improper beliefs can hamper healthy decision making and planning and consequently lead to their addiction.
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