PARENTS NOT TO BLAME, POLICEMAN MISTAKEN ON TREATMENT SUCCESS

Re: Parents of drug addicts to blame, Letters, March 25. I was not going to
write about this subject again, but Irvine Hill got my goat.

How can you blame parents in today's world? It's nice to know that you
had total control of your young one and knew exactly what they were
doing at all time.

I can name a few professional athletes who became drug dependent. I
bet their parents kept them in sports all their young years. Most of
them even went to university. I guess it is your few of these
professional athletes who sat down one day and said "gee, now that I
have made it, I think I will become a drug addict."

My point is no matter where you come from - the slums, middle class,
or high society - if it's meant for you to be an addict, you will be
an addict.

Your friend the RCMP officer who served on the drug squad for 20 years
worked on the gloomy side of the fence. Places like East Hastings in
Vancouver, Younge Street in Toronto or the downtown area of Red Deer.
He probably never saw the success stories, but I give him the credit
because there were probably more than you can count.

From 1983 to 1992, I worked in the field of addiction. I have been to
detox centres, treatment centres and helped run after care programs
for addicted people on alcohol or drugs.

Many became friends and, yes, many stayed clean.

Statistics show that of people who go into detox/treatment, one-third
will get sober, one-third will go out and try again but will get sober
later down the road. The last third, they do unfortunately die of the
disease of addiction.

Bob Davis

Red Deer