Getting High at the Movies

This essay was written on March 16, 2016, and is part of my book, Weighing Things Up, Book 2; More Essays on Trends, Technology and Present-day Society

When we go to the theater, it’s because we want to see a good movie and have a nice bag of hot popcorn. We never think about the patrons shooting themselves up with drugs.

Several days ago in my city, four hypodermic needles were found by a cleaning woman inside some of the leather chairs in a local movie theater. She accidentally stabbed herself with one of the needles and was taken to the hospital for evaluation. As a result of this incident, the owner of the movie theater removed all the leather chairs from each of his screening rooms. It was a tremendous economic sacrifice.

Just how bad is the drug problem in this country? It seems that we have to worry about hypodermic needles no matter where we go, whether it’s at the beach, a school classroom, or a public restroom, and now the movie theater. It’s utter madness, and society needs to take steps to do something about this problem right now.

I am not a drug addict, so I don’t claim to know what it’s like to be hooked on a chemical substance. With that said, many innocent people, including business owners, have to pay the price for what these drug addicts do. Those leather chairs at the movie theater where the four needles were found were there for patrons to relax in.

If these moviegoers can’t relax at that theater, they will just have to move on to another one. Then again, what if all theater owners decide to remove leather chairs in case of hypodermic needles? Do ushers now have to check each patron for drug paraphernalia? Can’t we relax and enjoy life without worrying?

All I can say is that we should be extremely careful and be very much aware of our surroundings.

(Originally published in Word Matters)

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