COMMUNITY DRUG STRATEGY COMMITTEE CONTINUES EDUCATION WORK

To steal unapologetically, and arguably inappropriately from stoner
rockers the Grateful Dead, we could say "what a long strange trip it's
been" in terms of the last decade's efforts by the Comox Valley
Community Drug Strategy Committee.

In 2002 the City of Courtenay was selected by the Federation of
Canadian Municipalities to participate in a project to develop a
localized drug strategy in order to deal with problems arising from
the use and abuse of all drugs, including alcohol.

At its inception the goals of the committee were as
follows:

1. To identify existing community groups and agencies that were
providing drug and alcohol services.

2. To develop and implement public awareness and education
campaigns.

3. To work with community partners to ensure a coordinated
plan.

4. To plan a sustainable drug strategy for the future.

An element that has been a vital facet of the committee from the
outset is that it has never followed an agenda other than to educate
the Comox Valley public about the realities of community dysfunction
and to suggest some means of, if not eliminating drug and alcohol
abuse, then at least to limit its impact on society at large.

In the years since its inception the DSC has made a series of fall
presentations to the public by individuals who have been directly
impacted by the drug culture, or who offer some particular expertise
in the realm of substance, its impact, and preventive measures.

The first public presentation came about in 2002 when former Canadian
heavyweight boxing champion, George Chuvalo spoke at the Sid Williams
Theatre and in a highly emotional presentation told the audience how
he had lost several family members, including two sons and his wife to
drug overdoses or drug-related suicide.

Among the highlights in subsequent National Addictions Awareness Week
presentations was the visit of Randy Miller in 2003. Miller was once
an aspiring and talented young hockey player who had the skills to
join the pros but ended up a severe and "hopeless" addict in
Vancouver's notorious Downtown Eastside. In the depths of his
near-fatal addiction he was taken under the wing of the cops of the
Vancouver Police Department's famed 'Odd Squad'. Miller figures
prominently in the NFB film Through a Blue Lens which captures him in
the depths of his addiction. Clean and sober for a number of years
thanks in part to the Odd Squad.

Another emotionally powerful presentation was made in 2007 by Katy
Hutchison whose physician husband was brutally murdered when he
intervened in an out-of-control teen party offered a poignant
presentation in which she spared no details on both the potential
dangers from excessive alcohol abuse, but also the power of
forgiveness.

The aforementioned items offer just a pastiche of many other
involvements and presentations by the committee over the years.

While the initial focus in its formative years was to look in the
direction of the annual presentation, eventually the committee's
interactions became more pervasive and support was offered to assorted
other bodies in the Comox Valley that were also working to bring about
a safer community.

One of the reasons the committee has been successful in addressing the
wants and needs of the community is because of the composition of the
membership.

Neither a professional nor political body, but a cross-section of
citizens representing a number of realms has taken time through the
years to help the Comox Valley retain and in some cases regain a
positive quality of life.

Included therein is Courtenay city council representation, the RCMP,
educators, addictions counselors and other service providers, the
media and AIDS Vancouver Island. Within that body there is a firm
commitment to the belief that education is the vital key in addressing
addiction and lifestyle woes within the community.

If you want to keep current with information on previous guest
speakers as well as information about requests for proposals for this
year, then a Facebook page provides an invaluable information source.

The page continues to be a work-in-progress. Access it at
http://www.facebook.com/pages/CourtenayCommunityDrugStrategyCommittee/175522145799385