I’m writing because of two girls I once knew. (And all the rest of the young people I have worked with. My precious grandchildren too. And my dear old friend who long ago lost so many of his friends.)
A few years back, I met two beautiful Grade 8 girls, in my art class down south. They both got addicted to crystal meth and who knows what else the next year, and their attendance at school was very spotty after that.
They both came to my art class again several years later, with resolutions, prayers, goals, dreams. Neither of them made it to the end of the year.
They could not overcome their addictions and the strong ropes tying them to the life they had built for themselves.
I wish I had been able to invite those girls to meet the Odd Squad when they were in Grade 8, before it was too late. They might have made different choices if they had some more information.
I was substitute teaching at Gudangaay Tlaats’gaa Naay in Masset late last month when I had the chance to hear a presentation by Odd Squad members Mark and Toby — two policemen who worked for many years in the Downtown Eastside of Vancouver and grew deeply concerned watching people make choices that have led to wasted potential, wasted selves.
Organized by Kim Claggett of Queen Charlotte, the presentations were brought here in hope that students on the islands could get good, clear information to help guide their life choices.
To start the presentation was the following statement, signed Joe Walker – Son, Brother, Addict 1991-2016.
“Everyone tells you about how bad drugs are,” Joe wrote. “No one tells you about how much fun they can be. That is the sick thing about it. Before you figure things out it is too late.”
Sergeants Mark Steinkampf and Toby Hinton spoke about the reality that they see in their daily work. They talked not only about how easily drugs can lead to abuse and addiction, but the fact that selling drugs is a big-dollar business.
In 1997, Mark and Toby were among the Odd Squad members who filmed the reality of Downtown Eastside drug abuse for what became a documentary called Through a Blue Lens. A second film, Flipping the World, focused on youth and their thoughts on drug abuse.
In Through a Blue Lens, we saw a young woman who ran to drugs after being date raped. She wanted to hide.
They filmed her when she first started with drugs. She was healthy, attractive, troubled.
They filmed her again after some months. She was covered in sores, ragged, and still troubled. Now she’s dead.
We saw footage of a young man screeching in acute psychosis, a guy who had hallucinated bugs in his skin. A young woman’s arms were twisted and permanently deformed from abscesses and repeated needles.
This can happen. This does happen. These men see these painful scenes a lot. They’ve seen what can happen. Addicts who can’t get through the waitlist to treatment. Teenage boys who experiment with opioids only to die after catching some fentanyl.
Mark and Toby said there is no quality control in street drugs, even marijuana. They also spoke about the damage and early death we risk by abusing tobacco and alcohol as well.
To stay well, they suggest young people make a plan for when friends pressure them to try drugs, and to talk out mental-health issues rather than turning to drugs that can sometimes make them worse.
We can make good choices based on respect for ourselves, they said. We can dive into something healthy rather than dive right into drugs.
Jane Kinegal
Masset