ADDICTIONS AFFECT ALL WALKS OF LIFE

An impeccably dressed woman gets off the bus at Main and Hastings in
Vancouver.

She walks down Hastings Street toward her place of employment as a
middle manager in a corporate office.

Suddenly, as if drawn by an invisible magnetic force, she furtively
disappears down a darkened alley and blends into a doorway. Suddenly
the bright light of a crack pipe glows against the wall. This highly
successful woman is addicted to crack cocaine.

On the other side of town a prominent lawyer prepares to enter the
courtroom.

He is defending a 25-year-old man accused of cultivation of marijuana
for the purposes of trafficking. The lawyer enters his private
washroom in his office. He locks the door and lays out two lines of
cocaine. He has just received this as a partial payment for taking on
this case. Two good snorts and he is now confident he will win his
case.

On the main street in front of the local high school a dealer is
giving away free samples of marijuana laced with crystal
methamphetamine to some of the students. Across the street a couple of
12-year-old boys are trying to get an adult to go into the liquor
store and buy them a bottle.

Does all of this appear far-fetched? Everywhere you look, everywhere
you turn, people are being affected by addictive lifestyles and behaviours.

How is this affecting you? Do you go to work in the morning and have
to submit to the tirades of your boss because he is suffering from a
hangover? Were you nearly run over on the way to work by someone still
under the influence of last night's party? Did you get a call from the
local RCMP asking you to go pick up your 14-year-old daughter at the
station?

It appears she partied too much last night and when she was questioned
by the police she assaulted one of the officers. Does any of this ring
a bell?

What can we do as a society to avoid these situations? I believe the
answer lies in being supportive of our children. To allow them to
communicate to us what is bothering them. To listen non-judgmentally
helps. I also believe we need to educate our youth on the dangers
lurking in the world of drugs. A new rape drug has just been
identified in the Lower Mainland. It is called Foxy Methoxy and many
young women have been violated after ingesting it. Stay educated and
learn as much as you can to help our youth. We don't want them to be
unsuspecting victims or to succumb to the drug snares lurking in the
shadows.

Raymond J. Bertrand, RPC, CGC, CAC ll, RAS Registered Addictions
Specialist You may contact me at: Adventures in Recovery Counseling &
Consulting Services.