Pubdate: Wed, 20 Nov 2002 Source: Hub, The (CN NT) Copyright: 2002 The Hub Contact: http://www.hayriverhub.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/2349 HEADS IN THE SAND Does Hay River have a drug problem? Absolutely. And the worst drug of all is alcohol - mostly because it is so accepted. When police bust people for pot possession, it's news all over town, and the RCMP issue a press release. When they catch a bootlegger or arrest someone for driving while intoxicated, it doesn't get a mention. That's not to say the police are at fault. Our justice system is a reflection of our society - one that is not, as the frightening alcoholism and social services statistics show, doing enough to addressing the problem of alcohol abuse. As addictions counselor Anne Marie McGuire-Smith argues in our special section on National Addictions Awareness Week, the community's denial of the impacts of addictions mean we'll keep suffering the effects until we commit adequate resources to the fight. See more on pages 15-19. - --- MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom