Legal illusions
Last month we organized our last "Fiiacolo" (Be there) youth conference. The breaking social events regarding the legal drugs uprising business and the death of tens of teenagers and hospitalization of many others, focused our interest in revealing an actual, major and serious subject. It is about the lives of our youth in the city and inevitably, from our churches. The legal drugs shops (the so called Dreams Shops, or Weed Shops) found an easy way through our legislation. They expanded very quickly and their incomes were announcing a promising future for the owners. Due to the abundance of universities and thousands of students, our city was placed on top of the preferences. The first reactions came soon... but it took a while and some human sacrifices until our politicians accepted the reality and started working on a law to shut down this dangerous business.
What do we have to do with this? We don't have many consumers among our youth in the churches, but they live under a huge pressure. The word "legal" confuses them as well as their friends, colleagues...This subjects are not a priority for our preachers in the churches. We often talk about spiritual things, but we are also called to discuss this kind of subjects, to analyze them and present God's perspective and His will. This is what motivated us to go deeper in the subject.
We've had a great day, full of vital information presented by our prevention specialists, equipped with God's authority and their professional expertise. They also facilitated the meeting with a group of ex-consumers from a rehabilitation program. They shared with us the consequences of the drugs abuse, the ruined lives as a result of their addiction and the cure that only God is able to provide.
Our politicians released a new law, forbidding the distribution of these "legal drugs" and closing the shops. But they didn't stop the black market and the low prices of these "fascinating herbs" are still a temptation for many. Definitely this is a step forward, but we know that His Truth planted in the minds of our students is the real Hope we have that they will stay clean, not because of a law, but because they love and respect Him. This way, they can also be a blessing for their friends, colleagues, and a hope for our city...
Here is a shocking visual description of what we tried to teach them that day. If you want to see a slideshow from the event click here.
