That’s what I say to legalising marijuana, Merry J – as it was called in my youth by those who found their unnatural “happy highs” through its use. 

That so many tens of thousands find synthetic comfort with this addictive substance, illegally, suggests that our culture offers a very miserable state–of–affairs for too many. 

This “blahh!” is not said without reflection. 

Reflection assisted by the alarming information presented by Shane Varcoe from the Dalgarno Institute, recently invited to speak by the Ararat Branch of the Australian Families Association, kindly organised by Gabrielle Walsh and Bob McGeoch.

The fifty or so people who attended were, altogether, horrified! 

Like Merry J, “ice” causes the humans’ delicate amino acids and enzymes responsible for our natural feelings of joy and well being, to flood the body.

But ice delivers a far more powerful punch than nature would allow.

A huge dollop of the happies in a few short minutes – so much so that the chemical reservoir of these natural compounds, after a few uses, is exhausted, at about the time addiction sets in. 

Then, gone are the happy, happies, but the craving remains, vice–like, intact. 

The behaviour that accompanies the addiction, increasingly, and almost immediately, becomes erratic, hostile and seriously harmful.

Unlike our natural happy times – those we experience through hearing good news, good exercise, bush walks, great food, and yes, great sex – ice’s (also speed, cocaine’s and other synthetic white powders’) massive release of these chemicals prevents natural recycling. 

The user has started the dreadful slide to serious self–harm and, without amazing will–power, intervention and blessing, has most likely begun a hasty “hello” to a hellish death.

How serious is this problem you ask? 

In the last 12 months, 400,000, mostly youthful people, have tried this stuff.

Addiction can be immediate, but it is assured after three “hits”.  

Perhaps the experience of New Zealand politician, Mike Sabin, former Policeman, might prod us out of being complacent. 

Called to known users’ home when neighbours, concerned for the well–being of a couple’s infant and toddler child, notified Police, Mike resigned from the force and pledged to fight this insidious and diabolical threat to modern life as a result of the horrific scene he witnessed. 

The parents had decapitated both of their children’s heads with a carving knife when high on this food–of–the–devil, presumably to keep them quiet as they binged.

They were not even aware that they had done this foul deed, though the bloody bodies were beside them.

Or perhaps the story of the young man, high as a kite, barging into a Darwin Doctor’s surgery with a sore eye, might help galvanise you to “dobbing in a dealer”.

The doctor asked him to ‘kindly wait his turn’. 

Shortly afterwards, he went out to where the youth was sitting, and, yes, he was waiting, but holding his eye in his hand. 

The bloke did not feel a thing. He did not know he had gouged his own eye.

Or, what about the tragedy, only a fortnight ago, on an Australian construction site? A young man, a back–packer from Italy, had donned a green high–visibility work singlet and walked onto the site and climbed up to the top of the 14–story building. 

The workers thought he was one of someone else’s crew. 

Convinced he could fly, the young man threatened to jump. Site was evacuated. Police were called in. At the change of shift, three hours later, despite best efforts to obtain a translator, the young fellow jumped. He survived the fall, for about 12 hours, just about everything in him, broken. 

Imagine how his parents now feel about Australia after hearing the news that their son, on the adventure holiday of a life time, had been doped up with that terrible stuff. 

Good one, Ozzie. When I was told this story over the telephone, by a tearful worker who had been on the site, I felt like retching.

This stuff, ice or methamphetamines, its various derivatives and other similacras, is deadly. 

Normally, the Police’s first response to troubled, violent, people, is discursive. 

With these hallucinogenic, paranoia–inducing chemicals, the Police response absolutely cannot be “try to placate”. No. It is six men and a gun. Users are out–of–control, know not what they do, and are murderously violent.  Even women.  Ask the lass who was totally unaware that she stabbed her flat mate to death. Under the influence of the drug, she remembered nothing.

So, is “blahh!” a strong enough sentiment?

The Dalgarno Institute’s research and their 150 years of extensive “pick–up–the–pieces”, if not bury–the–dead, counselling/healing , at the coal–face,  warfare against addictive substances shows, without exception, ice use follows use of alcohol, then Marijuana use, then, the harder stuff is just a harder hit of artificial happy highs.

This is the path way, without exception, of those who voluntarily try this lethal stuff: it invariably follows that route. 

But we also have to confront the frightening phenomena of “party drugs” and “spiking” friends’ drinks.  Involuntary use results in similar tragic endings: deadly poisonous impurities, blood clots, heart failure, strokes  – crashing trips.

Just three times and you’re hooked into hell and deadly peril.

How is this dreadful stuff being distributed?  It is not openly sold – it is “networked” through friends–of–friends, mostly at parties. 

Vulnerable, particularly, young, people are targeted – those without a good “significant other” adult, mentored, relationship, are the most vulnerable. 

They are vulnerable because for such, rebellion and peer group cliques hugely influence their thoughts and actions. They are people who flee from, or are deprived of, responsibility: those we collectively fail to guide into how to make wise choices for a meaningful life. 

The most serious side of the Ararat presentation related to the now loud, political moves to legalize addictive substances and introduce “harm minimization strategies” to combat the scourge: needle exchanges, injecting rooms, methadone programs, etcetera.

Harm minimization may help the addict to give up, eventually.  But it is only a “maybe”. 

The Dalgarno Institute says the only strategy that does work is a four–pronged approach beginning with

In some parts of the world, paedophiles, pederasts’ and drug dealers are given a thorough bashing then fed to sharks. Those communities have very little trouble, thereafter, with such unsavoury elements in their society.

Presumably, they take this stance because, like John Donne, they know, “no man is an island” – each of our lives affect every other life with which we come into contact. A rotten orange in the basket can cause all the oranges to mould.

Mr Varcoe concluded with a quote emphasising the role of “culture” in our lives. 

It is to “provide webs–of–meaning that shape the way we see the world, locate ourselves within it and behave in it.”

If our collective culture is failing to provide challenging, fulfilling, responsible and potentially, safe, truthful, joyous engagements, surely we all need to do something about re–emphasising belonging and teaching to make a good life? (We actually still have much to learn from the most ancient of the world’s cultures, the Australian Aboriginals.

The first anthropological assessments made, noted, in strong contrast to their own societies, there were no orphans, no addicts, no madness in their clans.)

We left the meeting wondering, how can we help make the epidemic of ice–use history for our nation? 

Sharing this information is a start. We then face the long haul of not “popular” politics, but “principled” politics, to override the advocacy of those interested in legalizing the drugs and only band–aiding the festering wounds left by “harm minimisation” policies’ inevitable addictions.

Unfortunately, those advocates include influential political leaders, pockets of the medical community and wealthy industrial chemists.  I also have to ask, why do we have dealers dolling–out ice’s almost certain death for a couple of hundred dollars?

Has Governments’ long term policy of mandatory 10 percent unemployment, impoverishing so many, contributed to this malaise? Is the current Labor push for no moral teaching in Government schools another contributor?

Obviously, some politicians do not know Australian history. The old King’s reason for funding the first public schools in Australia included the principal reason of teaching morality to the amoral and immoral.

Non–sectarian Christianity, the idea of “do unto others as you would have them do unto you”, however, was wickedly twisted into the idea of “secular” public education.

Too many people did not know the difference.

For our community, to find the political will and enact principled and proven solutions is what is meant by “fighting the good fight”.

Lake Bolac