War on drug, alcohol abuse needs plan

EDITORIAL

Page 6

The response to Gregg Smith's (president of the Indian Association of Alberta) declared war on drug and alcohol abuse has met with favorable response.

The problem is that no one knows exactly how to sign up for battle duty, what weapons will be used, or where the battles will be fought.

If those basic questions are not answered soon, the impact of Smith's initiative will be lost.

We can sympathize with Smith's dilemma.

On the one hand, he has a genuine concern over a severe problem affecting Native people and a sincere desire to do something about it..

On the other hand, he is faced with the reality that the IAA does not have the mandate or the resources to deal with the problem. The IAA is a political organization, and as such is not supposed to be involved in the actual delivery of programs.

Ideally, Smith's declaration of war on alcohol and drug abuse should have been

a rallying cry for the people he represents and for everyone concerned about the tragic consequences of that problem and the many and varied efforts being made to solve it.

That has not happened.

Each of us seems to be so wrapped up in our own direct relation to the problem and our own efforts to solve it, that it is difficult to find the time and attention to relate to others in the same predicament.

That is unfortunate because, by communicating with each other and sharing our concerns and ideas, we could very likely find solutions to our own problems and ease the burden each of us carries.

What is needed here is a focus for the varied efforts already in existence, a mechanism to make effective joint effort possible, and a public awareness and education campaign to promote it.

We are certainly willing to help in whatever way we can - particularly with public awareness and education, since that is our mandate.