RECOVERING ADDICT DRAWS HOPE FROM EDITORIAL

Re: Addiction should be treated as a disease, not as a moral failing,
Editorial, March
31

Thank you for this editorial about addiction. It offers me hope.

A couple of years ago, I decided to try various drugs. I had a
relative who was using even after treatment, so I decided to find out
what the situation was all about. I believed that I was a strong
person, and could try drugs without having a problem.

To make a long, sad story short, I was wrong ,and I became addicted to
crack cocaine. It has been the challenge of my life to be clean. I
even reached the point of wanting to end my life because I couldn't
stop using.

I am grateful for programs available through Coastal Mental Health, an
excellent drug and alcohol counsellor, and supportive family and
friends for seeing me through this bizarre period in my life.

However, the cost has been high. The religious community of which I am
a part both as an adherent and professional appears to need to
distance itself and ensure that I am not involved in any way. So be
it. It was, however, the wonderful people in the pews who wouldn't let
me go. Thank God!

I have had several falls from the "wagon of abstinence," which I think
is more the norm for recovering addicts, and has been a source of
heartache for everyone. I am clean and with the help of God and my
family and friends I will continue to be clean. I am glad the
editorial doesn't condemn me as a moral failure.

Don Hume

Vancouver