STOP IGNORING DRUG PROBLEM

Merritt has a serious drug problem.

It is somewhat hidden. If you don't want to see that it is there you
can easily turn a blind eye. But if you pull your head out of the
sand for just a moment you will see this is a community that is
struggling with a substance abuse problem that has reached epidemic
proportions.

Luckily Merritt is blessed with a number of people who refuse to
ignore the obvious. They consist of drug and alcohol counsellors,
nurses and doctors, recovering addicts, RCMP officers, members of the
local churches and concerned and compassionate residents. They all
have one thing in common - they refuse to sit back and watch things
deteriorate without taking action.

Society as a whole fears what it doesn't understand, and most of us
can't put ourselves in the shoes of a drug addict. We see them on the
street or in the bars and don't think it could ever be us.

Well, the reality is it could be us. No matter how much we don't want
to admit it, part of the reason it isn't one of us sitting in that
alley taking another hit is just plain luck. A simple change in
circumstance could mean we trade our life for theirs. In the blink of
an eye we could be in a situation that had previously seemed impossible.

"No one dreams of being a drug addict when they grow up." These words
were recently spoken by a recovering addict in Merritt who has been
clean for two years. Before becoming hooked on prescription drugs her
life was probably a lot like many people's in Merritt. She had a
couple of kids, a job and a husband. Then a car accident changed all
of that. Suddenly she found herself hooked on prescription drugs and
craving her next fix. All that mattered to her was the drugs.
Everything else was secondary, even her husband and kids. It is not
that she didn't love her children, it is just that the addiction is
that powerful.

It is this type of situation that needs to be attacked in Merritt.
There is really no solution but, like everything worth doing, it
begins with just one step.

Perhaps the new needle distribution centre will be the step many
addicts need to get clean. Maybe they will find comfort in the
kindness of the people who have decided to start up this project and
will discover a way to see through the fog to a life beyond the
drugs. The needle exchange may not be a final solution but it is a
step in the right direction.

In 1996 Interior Health started gathering data on drug use in
Merritt. By the following year they had 12 clients, 10 men and two
women all between the ages of 30 to 59. That year they distributed
1,890 needles to users in the Merritt area. For the next two years
this number more than doubled. Although the increase was not as
dramatic over the next few years, by 2005 the program was
distributing 37,320 needles in the Merritt area and had 25 clients
from 20 to 59 years of age. No that is not a typo - more than 37,000
needles in Merritt.

Can you still claim that there isn't a drug problem in this
community. According to the RCMP there isn't a drug on the market
that isn't available in Merritt. From marijuana to crystal meth they
are all out there, and things are only going to get worse.

It is only though education and prevention that the future may
brighten. This understanding and education is not only on the part of
the addicts. It must come from every direction. We can all do our part.

So hats off to the members of the Trinity United Church for stepping
up to the plate and taking a chance. It won't solve the problem, but
maybe it will get people thinking about something they had previously
chosen to ignore. -HST