BURNING

The majority of Kahnawake's drug users 'burn' or as most people know it -
smoke pot.

Many people in Kahnawake may not realize, while others are only too aware,
that teenagers in Kahnawake are trying, experimenting and using drugs in
large numbers. Some people would like to believe that drug use in Kahnawake
is not a large problem. They say it's worse in other places.

That may be the case, but that does not change the fact that various types
of drugs are in our community.

Over the past several years the Kahnawake Peacekeepers have conducted raids
at several local residences which have resulted in the seizure of numerous
amounts of marijuana.

There have also been arrests made of non-locals in Kahnawake that resulted
in the seizure of various drugs including marijuana and cocaine.

Earlier this year two local teenagers suffered injuries when they fell
face-first into concrete after ingesting some type of drug. This event
resulted in many Kahnawakehro:non organizing several anti-drug marches.

A direct result of these demonstrations was the MCK looking into adopting a
drug law which would include a clause for banishing convicted drug dealers
from Kahnawake.

One 17-year-old Kahnawake teen, who will be referred to as "Bopper," says
the first time he smoked a joint was when he was 13.

Since there has been added pressure to rid Kahnawake of drugs by many
parents, Bopper says it is more difficult to obtain drugs here. He says
some kids have to walk across the train bridge to get their supply. Others,
he says, travel to Kanehsatake to buy larger quantities of marijuana at
once so they won't run out too fast. Kanehsatake, whose residents have
their own problems with drugs, is well-known for its numerous pot fields.

Marijuana was the first drug Bopper tried. In the four years since first
trying pot he has also experimented with mushrooms, acid and cocaine. He
does not consider himself a "heavy" drug user.

He also states that there are people in Kahnawake that use heroin. That
being the case, he believes that marijuana is still the drug of choice of
many Kahnawake teenagers.

Bopper states that he started doing drugs "...just to try it out and see
how it was. There was no peer pressure involved."

"The way I look at it," continues Bopper, "is that beer is a drug and
marijuana is a plant, which shouldn't be illegal."

When asked of his feelings about being a drug user, he said, "It bugs me
sometimes. I smoke [pot] to relax and mellow out. It makes me feel less of
a person and it makes you do stuff you shouldn't be doing".

He also concedes that doing drugs is not the best way to maintain
relationships. "It gets you in trouble with family, friends and the law,"
he said.

Despite these feelings Bopper says he currently has no desire to stop
smoking drugs.

"My parents weren't too happy," he confessed. "They told me, 'If that's
what you want to do, it's your life. You're only hurting yourself.'"

When he has children of his own and if they decide to do drugs, he says he
won't be very happy but he'll tell them the same thing his parents told him.