Alcohol, Drugs and Children By: Anthony Pellegrino

Yesterday I wrote about my experience in attending a meeting of the Alcoholics and Cocaine Anonymous. It was a soul-searching and emotional one. It got me thinking about similar problems in the CNMI. The plague of drugs and drinking seems to be a universal one. How are we as a community handling this pestilence?

Occasionally I read that one or two people are arrested and perhaps fined and given a prison sentence. Usually the case involves a foreigner. Then silence sets in until the next report. Yet we know that many local residents are heavy drug users and also heavy drinkers but somehow few convictions are handed out. For some strange reason there seems to be little public awareness and apathy about the disaster and waste of human life involved. Until a calamity occurs, few of us really care.

About a year ago we saw the results of deviant behavior that “ice” can cause when a man entered a relative’s house, attacked the children and then raped and killed their mother. Thank goodness the man was caught and put away. For a while there was a flurry of concern, but now the silence has settled in again.

It is alleged that many adults in responsible government positions are drug users and heavy drinkers. In fact several have been publicly accused but nothing has been done to rehabilitate them. Occasionally the government talks about mandatory drug testing but somehow fails to follow through. There seems to be no consistent program.

One of the sad casualties of drinking and drug use are our children. Almost daily students are apprehended at the junior high and high school for drug use. Despite the ongoing program called DARE, drugs and drinking are still a part of the community. The question is where does a 10 or 12 year old get his drugs or beer? He doesn’t know how to grow marijuana nor have the money to buy it. He can’t go into a store and buy a case of beer.

There can be only one conclusion; parents and friends of the family supply them. Perhaps the parents carelessly leave drugs and alcohol around the house with easy access by children. At family gatherings it is a known fact that beer and perhaps drugs are shared with them. The juvenile thinking of these adults is: “After all, it’s a party. Let them enjoy.” Thus we train future drinkers and drug users.

No, I have not become an instant reformist, but a concerned citizen who wants everyone to enjoy the fullness and beauty of life. You and I see daily the misery and waste of human lives and damage caused by abuse. I want us to stop sweeping our drug and alcohol abuse problems under the rug. Let’s air them out and face them squarely. Let’s take preventive action before destructive action. “‘I’m sorry’ is too late after the fact.

Just as the alcoholic and drug addict must admit he has a problem before he can effectuate a cure, our community must admit that drug abuse and excessive drinking does occur before it can take corrective measures to minimize them. We cannot wait until the government takes action nor should we expect it to. It is our responsibility to help anyone anywhere to seek help. We must realize that drug abuse and alcohol abuse are not moral issues, but diseases that can kill. There is no panacea but group concern can help the abusers.

“God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can, and wisdom to know the difference.” Are there any courageous people listening and willing to accept the challenge?