What happened to experiencing consequences of your actions?
By Lethbridge Herald on July 4, 2018.
The dictionary definition of consequence is “something produced by a cause or necessarily following from a set of conditions” and “a result of a particular action or situation, often one that is bad or not convenient.”
When growing up I was taught you were responsible for the consequences of your actions. Speeding could result in a ticket. Careless driving could result in an accident. Skipping work would result in reduced wages or being fired.
The main message was that you suffered the consequences of your actions. The results were self-inflicted. I did not see this as tough love, just common sense. I am sure a majority of us were raised in a similar way. It was not the cop’s fault for receiving a ticket; it was not the tree’s fault for being in the way of your vehicle; and not the boss’s fault you were docked wages or were fired. It was your choice that caused the results.
Addiction is the consequence of bad lifestyle decisions, be it alcohol, drugs, gambling or many other risky behaviours. There are a plethora of results from addictions: lost productivity, lost employment, lost relationships, lost lives, etc. Yes, some do hit bottom, genuinely seek counselling and treatment and then manage to turn their lives around. Many choose not to. It is painful being around an addicted person who is not interested in getting clean. It is not pleasant watching them lose jobs, lose relationships and, yes, watch them die way too young. Enabling an addict does not offer any solution. Unfortunately, relief from addiction is only available to those addicts who genuinely want to change their lifestyle.
So far the only statistics from the safe consumption site is the number of users. Is this all they are interested in? How many of these users are actually being helped with counselling? How many have chosen to change their ways and have started recovery? How many are actually from Lethbridge?
Recent articles published by the Lethbridge Herald indicate there are between 400 and 500 people in Lethbridge using the safe consumption site. With a population of approximately 100,000 people in Lethbridge, the “responsible” drug users account for .4 per cent to .5 per cent of the population.
Just wondering why 99.5 per cent of the Lethbridge taxpayers are responsible for the actions of the .5 per cent of the population who are drug addicts.
Frederick Lee
Lethbridge
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