Drugs and alcohol have been used for medical and recreational purposes throughout history. With the advancement of technology it has become increasingly easier to access these substances. It is not only illegal drugs but also prescription drugs that are being misused and causing havoc across the world. Despite the billions of dollars spent to stop the war on drugs, the problem persists. People from all walks of life have been affected by drugs or are becoming drug addicts themselves. A particular group affected by the abuse of these substances are the children of drug-addicted parents. According to Cattapan and Grimwade, “drug use observed in one generation influences the lives of the next.” Children with one or both parents taking drugs face enormous disadvantages. They suffer physical abuse and emotional trauma with lasting effects, and their family unit is destroyed. Social institutions are overburdened by the need to help or relocate these children. Parents should be able to provide a stable and loving environment for their children to grow up, unfortunately for drug addict parents this feat seems impossible. Drug addicts need to satisfy their needs more than anything else (Street, Whitlingum, Gibson, Cairns, and Ellis 2011). The high cost of drugs and their bizarre side effects make daily life difficult and unpredictable for the children of these drug addicts. Estimates show that “…6 million children live with a parent who abuses alcohol or other drugs” (Taylor 2011). Children living with substance-abusing parents enter a perpetual cycle of physical abuse, neglect, and emotional trauma. Numerous children raise themselves and/or their siblings because their parents are too drugged to meet their needs or are not home at... middle of paper... unless the will of the child is stronger than the desire of using drugs or alcohol the child will become a veteran of an illegal lifestyle. Children of drug-addicted parents enter a world with a handicap; a stable life is unfamiliar to these innocent children. Drug addicts do whatever it takes to get their next fix, even if it means exploiting their children. Even when a child is removed from immediate danger and goes to live with other family members, the emotional scars remain. These children are bound to act out and behave aggressively due to the difficulties they have faced. If these children do not receive help through counseling or other means, the cycle of addiction will continue. Our capacity as human beings to love, to care, our connection to each other is reason enough to care about the lives of these children. It could be someone you know.