ACTION NEEDED ON ADDICTION

Sometimes it takes courage and at times it is heartbreaking too, but
something has to be done about drugs and alcohol on reserves.

One reserve on Vancouver Island, with its band membership, chief and
council, with the aid of their hereditary chiefs, has told twelve band
members they must get treatment for drug and alcohol or get out of the
community.

How does one become addicted? An individual has to be introduced to
this illegal substance, a free sample here and there, and soon that
individual is addicted. Once addicted, the person's body craves more
and more, until there is no controlling the body or its addictions.

People addicted to these illegal substances forget about family, about
their responsibilities, or meeting their social commitments like
paying their rent, phone, hydro, etc. They even get to the point where
personal hygiene is no longer their priority.

Once the addiction has control, it rules the individual's life. The
drugs and alcohol become expensive, especially if that person is on
social assistance, so they borrow, steal, tell lies, and go as far as
prostituting themselves, male or female.

The life of an addict is not a fancy one. It is very poor. Self
- -esteem hits bottom, respect is a word they do not hear or even
recognize anymore.

Unless one has lived in the world of addiction, one cannot know what
it does to a fresh, clean young child, innocent until that first free
sample of drugs or alcohol, then that sweet child is lost, gone.

People think that eight weeks in a treatment center is the cure. Well,
it will take much longer for the cure to happen than the time it took
for the addiction to take hold.

Look at what drugs and alcohol have done to so many lives: children
grow up in an environment of empty beer cans, pot butts in cigarette
ash trays, and whatever else drug users have in their homes. If the
addicts are a bit on the wealthy side, perhaps there are empty whisky
bottles too.

Employment is no longer feasible for a drug addict or
alcoholic.

Their resume is no longer up to date or their references are not
available.

Children are the ones who suffer, but we must also remember their
parents suffer too, because of their addictions.

Grandparents who think they might be able to help, offer shelter, but
soon they find that their family has stolen from them, or they often
suffer elder abuse.

In the First Nations, family means the whole village.

If one is suffering or needs help, someone in the village offers to
help.

First Nations people do not say, let's ship these bad folk off to the
Vancouver ghetto, where lots of these addicts live. You can see their
strength of a nation, any nation, by the way its people take care of
their weak.

We, as aboriginal people, face a huge dilemma. What are we to do? Do
we look the other way and ignore the issues, or do we say, no, our
people are sick - we are going to find a way for restoration.

We do not condemn those who are attempting to bring health to their
community. Instead, we should take their example.

Drug addicts are the users.

The drug dealers are also addicts, addicted to how much they can sell.
The more they sell, the more they want to sell. They need help, too.