Letters to the Editor

Community helpers

Kudos to employees of the Department of Public Safety, Division of Fish and Wild Life, and Herman’s Modern Bakery for recently taking the time to explain their role as “community helpers” to students of DanDan Headstart.

A visit from dozens of 4 and 5 years old can be challenging, to say the least. But with the help of these fine folks and the headstart teachers, our youngsters are learning valuable lessons: firefighters and police officers help au and are our friends, not people to be scared of; cleaning up after ourselves at the beach will help protect our marine life (some adults have yet to learn this lesson); and tasty treats at the store are made with lots of hard work (and a little fun).

While education still begins at home, my thanks goes to these groups for also making a difference.

Catherine Anderson

Feeling normal

I would like to respond to your article about ice use and the destruction of families here. While I think I understand the thinking behind going after the peddlers and importers, I think the problem is larger than that. I trust that Ed Stephens would think of it as a demand side problem, as much as a supply side problem.

In many ways, going after the peddlers and importers will only serve to increase the price and the social and familial problems will surface much more quickly. If the risk is raised for the dealers, the price will have to be raised in an effort to cut losses in the event of a shipment loss or loss of a sales person (confiscation or arrest). Without impacting the demand side, the increase in cost will absorbed by the consumers. The users are willing to put family, friends, work, and their own lives at risk (and may be aware of that risk prior to the first use). Once a person has used, thoughts risks and benefits focus largely on the benefits, especially with “ice.”

Please know that I am not an expert in “ice” but I have been involved in substance abuse and addiction counseling for almost 20 years. Addiction is a very simple problem, woven into a very complex fabric.

Consider the effects of most addictive drugs (“ice” being a very quick on to become dependent on):

1) Effect is fairly immediate. Smoke it or drink it or shoot it or swallow it, the desired effect will happen relatively quickly.

2) Effective, almost guaranteed. Once ingested, you are going to feel different than before it was ingested. If you don’t like the effect of one drug, there are others with opposite effects, if that is what you are after. With a little sampling, an addict can certainly settle into a drug of choice.
3) The effect of amphetamine to us is euphoria. Imagine felling ten times more competent, attractive, intelligent, and capable. Imagine feeling ecstatic about yourself. Imagine having an immediate solution to every problem life has to offer.

None of those things really happens, but such is the realm of our own emotions under the influence.

On the “downside,” the return to real, normal emotions takes a slight turn that most addicts tend to ignore on the way up.

Before you get back to “normal,” you have to go through a state which feels really awful. (consider the opposites of euphoria.)

To make matters even worse, “normal,” probably wasn’t all that hot anyway, and you are out the money it took to get and maintain the feeling of euphoria as long as you could. “Normal” is now worse than it was. We are human and learn very quickly. And what did we just learn about how to feel differently. Hence, all kinds of other behaviors in order to get enough money together to score, ingest, and not have to feel “normal.”

It really isn’t as simple as cutting off the supply. The demand has to be changed. And changing the demand is really not as much fun, takes a lot of work, and doesn’t feel like euphoria. It feels pretty normal, actually.

Daniel Bennett

Dandan

OPA recommendations being addressed

On Tuesday, October 31, 2000 your paper ran an article headlined “OPA RECOMMENDATIONS IGNORED” which I feel needs to be responded to. As the Chairperson of the Interagency Audit Coordinating Advisory Group (IACAG), I reviewed the same report from the Public Auditor that you reported on and disagree that it shows OPA’s recommendations have been ignored. The vast majority of recommendations listed in the report carry a “Resolved, Delinquent” status which means the agency’s response was acceptable to OPA but additional information is required to close the recommendation. Lack of communication between OPA and the agencies result in these recommendations remaining on OPA’s tracking list even though actions have been taken. Implementing recommendations that involve revision of regulations, legal proceedings or computer software changes usually take fairly long periods of time and may be shown as delinquent even though actions are proceeding.

I must point out that your article’s statement that “DOF failed to take action on at least 50 recommendations issued by OPA in its 18 audit investigations for the agency in 1999.” is false. There are 50 recommendations to DOF on OPA’s tracking system for audits issued from 1995 through June, 2000. Of these, six are a direct function of DOF such as the recommendations pertaining to the lottery. None of these recommendation are delinquent. The remaining 44 are deficiencies from other agencies, transferred to DOF for corrective actions which are mainly to collect for the government payments previously made that are unjustifiable. DOF has responded to all these recommendations, most of which relate to prior administrations, and is actively trying to implement them. Six of these recommendations have a status of “Resolved, Active” and are not listed as delinquent. The recommendations listed as delinquent are all being worked on. Seventeen of the “delinquent recommendations” relate to revising the CNMI Procurement Regulations which we hope to publish next month. OPA is a member of the committee for revision of the procurement regulations so it is interesting that they consider the revisions delinquent and not actively being worked on.

We have found the meetings of the IACAG with OPA and the individual agencies to be extremely positive in improving communications and enabling OPA to close outstanding recommendations.

The committee meets with individual agencies on a weekly basis and strives to resolve and close all outstanding recommendations. We are optimistic that a majority will be closed by the end of this fiscal year if not earlier.

Lucy DLG. Nielsen

Secretary of Finance