IS THE OIL BOOM AFFECTING LOCAL DRUG USE?

Is there a link between Alberta's booming industry and its booming
drug scene? Alberta has been home to a booming economy with booming
paychecks, but it has also been called the drug capital of Canada. Is
there a connection?

The troubling link between boomtowns and high rates of substance
abuse is usually attributed to workers having too much money and too
little to do. But a recent study of one Alberta community suggests
underlying pressures including loneliness, a lack of healthy social
connections and a need to "keep up with the Joneses" are to blame.

Two University of Alberta researchers worked with the Canadian Forest
Service to conduct the study, which found that substance abuse in the
neighbouring municipality of Hinton runs far deeper than the current
economic boom. The group also found that because many resource-based
communities in Alberta and North America have similar social and
economic structures, the study's findings might provide insights into
the social challenges of boomtowns everywhere.

"What research in the town of Hinton has revealed is that the roots
of substance abuse are deeply entrenched in the economic and social
structure of the community," said Angela C. Angell, co-author of the
study and a master's student in the University of Alberta's Faculty
of Agricultural, Life & Environmental Sciences.

The study reads that although the costs of substance abuse are
difficult to calculate for individual communities, according to the
Alberta Alcohol and Drug Abuse Commission (AADAC), it is estimated
that drug and alcohol abuse will cost the province of Alberta over
$400 million every year in lost productivity. The breakdown of these
costs includes risk of injury, depression, stress, reduced morale,
absenteeism, and higher worker's compensation and insurance costs.

In 2006 the researchers interviewed 108 people living and working in
Hinton, a community of 10,000 , which was experiencing an oil and gas
boom at the time. The town is also supported by pulp and paper mills
and mining.

The interviews, which included forest, mining and oil and gas
workers, medical personnel, RCMP officers, seniors, students and
people recovering from addictions, identified five common factors
that contribute to social breakdown: 1) people of high and low
incomes are separated by socially tight-knit groups; 2) high incomes
lead to a "keeping up with the Joneses" mentality, which produces
subsequent financial stress and less time for family; 3) transient
workers are prone to alcohol and drug use due to loneliness; 4) shift
work leaves workers exhausted and disrupts family routines and
relationships; 5) a union environment, coupled with high incomes,
leads to a "culture of entitlement" among some workers who feel that
there are no consequences to their actions, including the misuse of
alcohol and drugs.

The interview data also indicated that the problems in Hinton might
be province-wide. One interviewee commented, "Is there a town in
Alberta that's not full of drugs nowadays?"

Study participants did acknowledge the negative side effects to
Alberta's economic boom. As one participant commented:

"Sure it's fine with the oilfield and all the jobs, but at what cost
though? The next generation is going to be paying big time for this.
Everyone forgets, you know, when they go on a ride, when we have a
good time, everyone forgets that this fun ride comes to a full stop
sooner or later."

"It is simplistic to point to fat paycheques as the sole cause of
substance abuse and it's unfair to only give attention to these
issues during boom times," Angell said.

"The social problems in resource-based communities have existed for
many years and are exacerbated by boom town conditions, she noted.
"Communities such as Hinton have been battling these issues long
before the oil and gas boom, and the inter-generational transfer of
these behaviours and attitudes have led to widespread family and
community dysfunction."

Participants commented that they felt children growing up in homes
with substance abuse are particularly vulnerable to the impact of
substance abuse. An addiction councilor described one long-term
affect that they had noted, "children often feel that they are not
valuable, that they are not good enough [and that] they are not worth
a whole lot."

"Governments also need to earmark funds and programs to meet the
unique social and economic challenges of resource-based communities,"
said John Parkins, a professor of rural economy at the University of
Alberta and co-author of the study. "This funding should include
regional, rural-based drug treatment centres," he added.

The study recommends that industry and major employers need to
promote healthy lifestyles and, though desperate for workers, not
turn a blind eye to substance abuse issues among their current or
would-be employees.

Results of the study were presented in 2007 at the 13th International
Symposium of Society and Resource Management in Park City, Utah and
at the Canadian Rural Revitalization Conference in Vermilion, Alberta.