Jason Jimenez

English 101

Professor Ms. Batty

29/May/2018

Addiction: The Devastating Toll on Addicts Lives

The instant feeling of electricity, the rush, a spike in neural activity sparks the start of a long vicious

cycle to demise. The long-lasting effects of "speed" mirror the everlasting hold it has on people's lives.

That is why I chose to write about Shawn a character from the novel "Still Water Saints" by Alex Espinoza.

The character Shawn is a complex individual, like any drug addict, who attempts to mask their true

problem. His story is a very interesting one that is insightful, educational, and brings you into a first-person

experience in the life of a drug addict. Shawn's story is important because it's not an isolated incident, in

fact, there are millions who struggle with addiction in the United States. The topic of drug addiction is

controversial because of the many misconceptions the public has about it. Society needs to know the

truth about addiction so that people can help end this epidemic. People need to stop viewing drug

addiction as a choice because that undermines the severity of addiction. Also, it effects the possible

finding of a solution by making people care less when there is a desperate need for more people to

become involved in finding a solution. The number of drug users in America continuously grow and that

may lead to more serious consequences that will affect the population. Although many believe drug

addiction is a personal choice, I believe that Shawn's story challenges that idea by showing how addiction

controls a person's life and causes a person to commit crimes and become unemployed.

In the book "Still Water Saints," by Alex Espinoza, the author introduces the reader to a character named

Shawn whom is struggling with drug addiction. We are introduced to this character in the chapter "Taking
Stock." in the very beginning of this chapter you are immediately drawn into his more overt issue of drug

addiction. We learn that he is addicted to a drug known through its street name of "speed." It is a drug

of the amphetamine family and is categorized as a stimulant, drugs that excite the nervous system. The

way the author describes Shawn's first time using the drug is a descriptive and spot on description of a

stimulant drug. Using imagery, the author characterizes Shawn as a person whom instantaneously became

addicted. In the book the author elaborates on this fictional character named Shawn by writing in a first-

person view. In the book Shawn describes the first time stating, "I felt invincible... I came to life that night,

and I didn't wanna die no time soon" (Espinoza, page 142). This use of imagery demonstrates Shawn was

overwhelmed by the intense feeling of the drug and was succumbed by this feeling. He believes that

before trying speed he had never felt truly alive. This is a key indication to his main issue that began when

he was in high school. It was the first step to the addiction that is later described. This is the first step to

addiction, the choice of trying a drug and becoming, in a way, completely satisfied by the effect of the

drug.

The way Shawn's dependency to speed causes him to steal from his job, is an example of how

addiction controls a person's decisions and actions. In the story, the author Alex Espinoza elaborates on

how Shawn can't control his need for speed and engages in criminal activities because of it. The author

accomplishes this with elaborative plot settings that lead into important dialog between two characters.

This is the buildup of Shawn's character and addictions increasing control over him. The plot begins to set

up as the author describes how Shawn runs a scam in his job, with the help of his best friend Beady.

Together they make about two hundred dollars a month. The way the scam works is Beady must walk into

Shawn's job to buy cheap items like batteries, on days that Shawn's manager isn't on the floor. That way

Shawn can then ring him up charging Beady for the cheaper item and slipping more expensive stuff inside

the bag. The author then transitions the story from the scam into Shawn and Beady going out that night.

The plot is now built up for the dialogue between them. The story states, "Tonight we're coming back
from scoring some from this Vietnamese kid we know who's our source... "I say fuck the forty-dollar shit,"

Beady goes. "Let's go for one of those printers."" The author gives important characterization details

about Shawn with the use of dialog. The dialogue reveals that after stealing they go buy drugs with the

money. Therefore, Shawn only steals to purchase speed. When a person commits a crime for obtaining

more drugs that person has committed a drug related crime. Drug related crimes are very common and

are examples of no longer possessing a control over addiction. These crimes are not done in a conscious

state of mind that allows a person to weigh out their options. They are done in a desire for drugs. The

Bureau of Justice Statistics released a statistic in which it states the number of federal and state prisoners

who have committed a drug crime. The article states, "Overall, 15% of state prisoners at year-end 2015

had been convicted of a drug offense as their most serious crime. In comparison, nearly half (47%) of

federal prisoners serving time in September 2016 (the most recent date for which data are available) were

convicted of a drug offense"(Carson). This quote proves that Shawn committing crimes to fund his drug

addiction is not a thing of fiction, in fact, there are many real-life drug users who do it. It's possible that if

these people weren't addicted to drugs they wouldn't be incarcerated. Drug related crimes is one of the

many ways addiction can ruin a person's life.

In the story Shawn ends up losing his job because of his drug addiction. Unemployment is a huge

issue in the United States and drug addiction is one of the many causes. If Shawn wasn't a drug addict he

most likely would've been promoted because he did have a good work ethic, but addiction caused him to

lose his job. Unemployment and drug addiction do have a correlation between them. In an article

published by CNN, " About 1 in 6 unemployed workers are addicted to alcohol or drugs-- almost twice the

rate for full-time workers, according to the government's National Survey on Drug Use and Health"(Kurtz).

This quote proves that there is a relationship between addiction and unemployment. It is not easy to

calculate the total amount of people who lose their jobs due to drugs, but there is a correlation between

the two and gives a high probability that they are related to each other. In Shawn's case it is evident that
his addiction is the real reason he lost his job. In the story Shawn is confronted by his manager, "so they

make me sign this paper saying I'm guilty of gross misconduct, and they hand me my last paycheck"

(Espinoza, page 157). This quote shows that he only lost his job due to him stealing. The scam he had going

on to accumulate income for another bag of speed ultimately caused him his job. These are reasons why

Shawn's story challenges the thought of drug addiction being a personal decision.

I agree to a certain point, that addiction is a personal decision, but I believe that the word

"decision" makes the argument flawed due to certain factors. Trying the drug is a choice, this way may

agree on, but the way the drug eventually takes complete control over your life isn't a decision. For one,

I think elaborating on what constitutes as a decision will help us be on the same page. In psychology, a

decision is a conclusion reached after consciously taking into consideration all possible outcomes. To

decide, it requires the need to be completely conscious. This means that due to drugs, it's impossible to

make conscious choices, because drugs alter an individual's conscious state. The drug speed is a stimulant

that accelerates the action potential of your neurons and releases extremely high amounts of dopamine

in your brain. Dopamine is a chemical released in low amounts from the reward system in your brain,

which is responsible for the pleasurable feelings people get after completing a task or doing something

they enjoy. So, drugs that release high levels of dopamine severely inhibits the person from feeling any

pleasure in everyday life and only feel satisfaction from drug use. Therefore, drug addiction cannot be a

choice because your brain's natural state is being altered so there's no way a person can make a conscious

decision. Those are drugs changing the way a person thinks, feels, and acts. Therefore, the drug has

control over the decisions a person makes. Therefore, I believe the counter argument is weak. What

person in the right mind chooses to live in such terrible conditions as described through Shawn.

Ultimately, all the descriptions of how meth affects the brain leads to other problems. It makes a person

dependent on a substance, and that dependency in turn drives people to commit crimes, live in terrible

conditions, and completely lose yourself. Those effects of dependency are elaborated in the story.
 In conclusion, although many believe addiction is a conscious decision, I believe that Shawn's story

challenged that thought by demonstrating how addiction caused him to steal, lose his job, and ultimately

ruined his life. The character Shawn is not an isolated event, in fact there are many real-life people who

are going through a similar situation or are substantially worse. And the number of people who have used

or are using meth like Shawn is alarmingly high. According to the NIDA, "The National Institute on Drug

Abuse (NIDA), an online resource for substance abuse and addiction treatment, reports that 1.2 million

Americans used meth in 2012. And as of 2013, 12.3 million Americans reported using meth in their

lifetime" (Huffington). This quote proves the fact that there are so many people out there like Shawn, and

this is only the number of people who have used meth, but there are so many different drugs and

addiction causes them to do the same as Shawn. To steal and do whatever it takes to make ends meet

with their drug habit. The predicament is, that if the amount of people who suffer with addiction continues

to increase, then, we'll be headed towards social deterioration. With the term social deterioration, I mean

that many concepts about a stable social environment will begin to collapse. To illustrate, a concept for a

stable society depends on economically, emotionally, and healthy well-being of its citizens. Therefore, an

increase in drug users puts the social construct of this country in jeopardy, because of issues associated

with addiction like loss in productivity and increase in criminal activity. By the time most begin to care and

begin to act, it may already be too late.

 Work Cited Page

Carson, E. Ann. “Prisoners in 2016.” Edited by Caitlin Scoville and Jill Thomas.

Bureau of Justice Statistics, BJS collects, analyzes, and disseminates reliable and valid statistics on crime
and justice systems in the United States, Jan. 2018, www.bjs.gov/content/pub/pdf/p16.pdf

Kurtz, Annalyn. “1 In 6 Unemployed Are Substance Abusers.” CNNMoney, Cable News Network, 26 Nov. 2013,
money.cnn.com/2013/11/26/news/economy/drugs-unemployed/index.html.

Louise Stanger Ed.d, LCSW, CDWF, CIP & Roger Porter. “The Changing Face Of Meth.” The Huffington Post,
TheHuffingtonPost.com, 1 Dec. 2017, www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/the-changing-face-of-
meth_us_58b849d9e4b051155b4f8c7d.

Espinoza, Alex. Still Water Saints. Random House Publishing Group, 2008.