CONFRONT THE REALITY OF SUBSTANCE ABUSE RIGHT HERE,
RIGHT NOW

The spectre of addiction affects everyone: families who must watch their
loved ones self-destruct; health care workers and counselors who patch them
back together; teachers who try to steer kids clear of dangerous habits;
and even business owners who must compensate for employee absenteeism.

The signs of alcohol and drug abuse are everywhere: in the child whose
parents forgot to buy groceries; in the men sharing a bottle along the
Cowichan River; in the teenagers huddled around their hand-rolled smokes
during a lunch break.

In the following collection of articles we look at drug and alcohol abuse
as a whole.

We've talked to parents, students, health officials, police and others to
bring you information on how the Cowichan Valley is dealing with the problem.

If you or someone you know is struggling with an addiction, we hope the
stories move you to seek treatment and support. For the rest of our
readers, we hope these stories provide food for thought, and inspiration to
be more understanding and tolerant of the myriad issues involved in addiction.

The solution isn't easy, or even obvious, but perhaps the executive
director of Cowichan Valley Family Life, Sandra Goth, said it best. "As a
community, we're all responsible for it, from confronting the woman who's
drinking while pregnant to intervening when someone is high and acting
dangerously.

"It's up to us."