Pubdate: Wed, 22 Nov 2006 Source: Merritt Herald (CN BC) Copyright: 2006 Merritt Herald Contact: http://www.merrittherald.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1446 OFFERING HELP If You Look Hard Enough You Can See Merritt's Drug Problem Everywhere. Unfortunately If You Aren't Looking You'll Miss It Altogether. Luckily for the people struggling with addiction issues in Merritt not everyone has their head buried in the sand. These people know of the problem and are working diligently to do what they can. Addicts in the community have a lot of people watching their backs. The bad news is many of them are not seeking help. For the most part this is something many of us just can't understand. Why, if an addict is given a chance, wouldn't they make a change? The problem is addiction is a mental health issue. People do not become addicted to drugs because they are not strong individuals. Addiction of any type is a disease and should be treated as such. To say that people who struggle with addictions are weak makes it sound like they are suffering from something that should be easy to kick. If you haven't actually kicked a habit as engained as drug addiction then you really shouldn't judge. Take the worst bad habit you have, multiply it by 1,000 and you only have a fraction of what people go through when they beat a drug habit. That is why it is so important that people who are successful in their recovery pass on the message to others who are addicted or may become hooked. This week is National Addictions Awareness Week, and in keeping with that theme the Herald caught up with one of the people who make up the Helping Hands Society. Brian Hopkins knows firsthand what addiction can cost, is how this story starts. The reality is, the only people that really understand the cost of addiction are the ones who have struggled with it either through their own addictions or that of a loved one. The honesty of Brian's story is alarming but important. Few people think of the consequences of taking that first hit, but it could be a determining point in your life. Brian told the Herald that from the first hit of cocaine he chased that high for the rest of his addiction. He never again caught it, but the chase kept him running for many years. When talking to addicts the most common word they use to describe their lives while they were addicted is waste. It is scary how much reality lies in the term "getting wasted." Never before has slang been more on target. Brian was lucky -- he survived. Some people aren't as fortunate. In British Columbia, drug abuse is a huge issue. It is estimated that 200,000 people in B.C. have problems with alcohol consumption, and another 33,000 are addicted to illegal drugs. Our province is known as the marijuana capital of Canada and is famous for the heroin abuse on the downtown eastside of Vancouver. But this problem spreads well beyond the border of the Lower Mainland. It is prominent in the small cities and towns throughout the province. In order to make some progress it is important that the problem of addictions be attacked head on. For the past month the Merritt Herald has been running an education program on crystal meth in the Valley Express. It was an initiative brought forward by the Province of B.C. The idea was to educate the public on the evils of crystal meth. Even if it only made a difference on one child it can be considered a success and money well spent. Last year the province spent approximately $92 million on support for addiction services, almost double of the year prior. You need not look any further than the Gathering of Voices conference in Merritt last week to see that this is money well spent. More people should follow this example and offer a positive, proactive way to educate people on the topic of addiction. Enforcement will only get us so far. Without education and treatment the cycle of addiction will only continue. Let's hope people will continue to offer a helping hand even when it seems no one is taking it, because you just never know when someone may discover they need it. - --- MAP posted-by: Elaine