Some years ago the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention published a graphic novel, Preparedness 101: Zombie Apocalypse, providing tips to survive a zombie invasion as a “fun new way of teaching the importance of emergency preparedness.” The CDC goes on to summarize cultural references to a zombie apocalypse. \u201cIt uses these to underscore the value of laying in water, food, medical supplies, and other necessities in preparation for any and all potential disasters, be they hurricanes, earthquakes, tornadoes, floods,\u201d or\u2026hordes of zombies?<\/p>\n
Though well-intended, the CDC\u2019s depiction of a zombie apocalypse as a metaphor for the real and very serious nature of deadly epidemics initially struck me as more of a distraction that somewhat trivialized the intent. But more recently it occurs to me that perhaps sensationalizing (as with a typical Hollywood depiction) the onslaught of a zombie virus in warp speed has in fact served to desensitize us from the all-too-real, slow-creeping epidemic of actual zombies who walk among us today. Hear me out.<\/p>\n
I really don\u2019t think it\u2019s much of a stretch to compare the pale clusters of jacked-up \u201cice-heads\u201d in our community to the hordes of walking dead zombies made popular in film. Admittedly, I really don\u2019t understand the biological effects of meth on a person\u2019s brain, but I picture the sight of dripping gasoline on Styrofoam where it literally burns\/melts holes upon contact. Hence \u2018Icehole\u2019 (as coined by one of my brothers) which, coincidentally, rhymes with another word that I\u2019d like to but can\u2019t use here.<\/p>\n
Ultimately, we\u2019re talking about \u201cmindless, unthinking henchmen under the spell of an evil force\u201d with both being generally \u201chostile to human life while engaging in a general assault on civilization.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mind you, I believe wholeheartedly that recovery is possible for meth addiction and, unlike the zombie virus, can be mitigated without a bullet to the head. But, for anyone actively using and refusing to seek help, I\u2019d just as soon see him wallow in some deep, dark hole of despair never to be seen or heard from again. Alas, the beast inevitably comes out to eat. I mean, for a fix, these Iceholes will rob and beat up their own mothers (or worse, their grandmothers) for God\u2019s sake. Recently, I\u2019ve heard of young children being pushed by their own Icehole relatives to peddle the stuff for them. Even worse than that, I heard from someone who knows that a child of a mere 15 years old is a known user in the community\u2026our community.<\/p>\n
Of course, we know with some certainty that punitive measures to combat addictions are less likely to yield any genuine, positive outcomes as say, a proper treatment plan (i.e., rehabilitation). So despite my visceral aversion to Iceholes, I am not completely without empathy. You see, \u201c[using], once a habit becomes an obsession, a true insanity that condemns people to [use] against their will.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sadly, we also know that drug use \u201ccan sometimes give rise to symptoms that, over time, lead to a diagnosis of mental illness\u201d though \u201cit is dangerous to conclude that drug use caused a mental illness\u201d (Dr. Porteus). The point being that the lines between mental illness and drug addiction are sometimes blurred; in fact \u201cresearch suggests at least a 60 percent rate for co-existing disorders in treatment programs. Professions have started to include substance abuse counselor training with mental health competencies, and mental health training with substance abuse competencies\u201d (NAMI-YOLO).<\/p>\n
On a personal note, I\u2019ve had to make a concerted effort to distance myself from or rather cut certain people out of my life due to their involvement with ice. It\u2019s really a sad occasion when you have tell someone you are close with or care about that he\/she is not allowed to come to your house anymore; unfortunately (especially in the CNMI), the options are slim. And, short of praying for some divine intervention, that\u2019s all I know to do in order to keep my kids safe. I don\u2019t think I need to elaborate on the kinds of criminal atrocities being committed at the hands of these Iceholes.<\/p>\n
Make no mistake. Our civil island society is under attack and we are at war\u2014World War IZ: The Rise and Fall of the Icehole Zombies.<\/p>\n
For more, please feel free to contact the NMPASI Office at (670) 235-7273\/4 [tel] \/ 235-7275 [fax\/tty] or via the internet at www.nmpasi.org. Also, our Governor has proclaimed May 17-23, 2015 as Prevention Awareness Week. For more information on what you can do to assist in efforts to prevent addictions, please call CGC at (670) 323-6560\/61.<\/p>\n
Jim Rayphand is executive director of the Northern Marianas Protection and Advocacy Systems Inc. Some years ago the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention published a graphic novel, Preparedness…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":18,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[3593,55,21,67],"class_list":["post-201084","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-opinion","tag-cgc","tag-health-2","tag-life","tag-people"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/201084","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/18"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=201084"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/201084\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=201084"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=201084"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=201084"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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