TRIBAL PROGRAM NEWS
•
•
•
•
•
•
Ask Raven
Raven will answer your questions
about problems associated with alco
hol, tobacco, and other drugs. You can
call in your questions to the numbers
below or mail them to:
•
•
•
•
Raven
P.O. Box 549
Siletz, OR 97380-0549
Dear Raven: It seems like there
are a lot of people who are using pain
medication. Some of them sell their
pills and some people are knocking
on doors trying to get them. What can
be done about this? I am very con
cerned about youth having access to
these pills. Unsigned
My friend: Many people share
your concerns about the abuse of pain
medications.
I know that doctors are becoming
more aware that they can contribute to
addiction problems in the community
unless they are very careful and only
prescribe within guidelines for pain
management.
Even with that, there are people
who are going to find a way to get these
drugs. Here is some information about
prescription drug abuse.
Most pain medications that are
abused are opiates or opioids. Opiates
are extracted from poppies. Opioids are
synthetic opiates.
Opiates and opioids include mor
phine, codeine, hydrocodone (Vicodin),
oxycodone (Percodan), methadone,
and heroin. They were developed to
treat acute pain.
People who have addiction prob
lems take them to experience the high,
or euphoric effects; to avoid emotional
and physical pain; and for withdrawal
symptoms.
Our bodies have their own natural
opiate painkillers called endorphins
and enkephalins. When these natural
painkillers relieve pain or give a surge
of pleasure, the brain sends out a sig
nal that says “mission accomplished.”
Powerful drugs, including opiates,
disrupt the brain’s ability to send out
those messages and in fact will rein
force the desire to continue the drug use.
Opioids affect almost every part of
the body - heart, lungs, brain, eyes,
voice box, muscles, cough and nausea
centers, reproductive system, digestive
system, excretory system, and the im
mune system.
Major side effects include:
•
•
Inability to sense the body’s pain
messages, which can keep a user
from getting treatment for ailments
Lowered blood pressure
Lowered pulse and respiration rate
Confusion
Eyelids droop and head nods forward
Speech becomes slurred
Slowed walk and coordination
Pupils become pinpoint and do not
respond to light
Skin dries out and itching increases
Chronic constipation
Delayed menstrual cycle
Reduced sexual desire
Withdrawal from opioids is difficult.
I will tell you more in the next issue.
Like the problems associated with
all drugs of addiction, it takes a whole
community to do something about it.
Here are some things you can do:
CEDARR
Community Efforts
Demonstrating the Ability
to Rebuild and Restore
Jan. 3*5:30 p.m.
Siletz Community
Health Clinic
Everyone is urged
to attend!
Prevention
Don’t Drink and Drive
Let your doctor know you are con
cerned. If you know of illegal use of
prescription dregs, let your doctor know.
Encourage schools to educate our
children about drugs.
If you are a parent, make sure your
children learn about drugs and how
to avoid getting involved in drug
taking and underage drinking.
Ask your church to become in
volved in community coalitions that
are intended to prevent drug abuse.
Be aware of the homes where your
children spend time. When adults
have these prescriptions in medi
cine cabinets, it can be tempting for
youth to try them.
by Delina John
Hopefully our community mem
bers had a safe holiday season on the
highways. I would like to encourage
us all to make 2(X)7 the best year. Here
is some information about drinking
and driving prevention.
Drunk or drug-impaired driving is
a common but preventable cause of
traffic crashes. Alcohol is involved in
more than l/3 of all fatal crashes in the
United States, making alcohol-related
traffic deaths the single largest com
ponent of all traffic fatalities.
In spite of progress in reducing
alcohol-impaired crashes, the drunk
driving problem will not be solved
until people change their attitudes
toward drinking and driving.
Thank you for writing. I share your
concerns and want to do what I can to
help. Raven
Avoid driving if you've been
drinking. Even a small amount of al
•
•
•
•
•
cohol in your system can impair your
ability to operate a vehicle safely.
Don't let your friends drive if
they’ve had too much to drink. Some
TLC Attitudes of Gratitude
by Lynn Whitlow
If you are reading this, you have
something to be grateful for already
this year: You woke up this morning!
Happy New Year 2007! That is
something most all of us would like to
see for ourselves, the ones we love, and
the world in general!
So many of us make New Year's
resolutions — some with real determi
nation and sincere desire, others with
rote, annual promises of “I'm going to
lose 20 (or 30 or 50) pounds this year”
or “I'm going to exercise an hour a day
and get into shape by June” - that get
forgotten by Jan. 10. Some of us have
stopped making resolutions and just try
to make the world about us better on a
daily basis.
A TLC resident says her resolution
this year is to stop smoking! That is a
hard one to do. Anyone who tries to
quit and recover from nicotine addic
tion needs all the support and encour
agement they can get.
I am very grateful I quit years ago
when I was a “lightweight” smoker and
already felt ill effects on my breathing
capacity. I empathize with those who
are trying to quit, but encourage them
to tough it out.
We are grateful to many folks and
departments. A big “thank you” to
Natural Resources for the perfect
Christmas tree, to Maintenance for
their continued “fix its," to George for
his volunteer work, to the clinic for
their good care and programs that help
our residents.
Likewise, Fleet for keeping us on the
move, Accounting for promptly taking
SiletzTribal Alcohol & Drug Programs
Prevention, Outpatient Treatment, and
Women’s Transitional
Siletz: 1 -800-600-5599 or
541-444-8286
Eugene: 541-484-4234
Salem: 503-390-9494
Portland: 503-238-1512
care of our financial paperwork, and to
Jason in Security for his night patrols.
We especially are appreciative of our
volunteers, Trish Morningstar, Alice
McCain. Levi Simmons, and Denise
Riding In. Thanks also to Laurel Johnson
for helping out a few nights. We are
looking forward to welcoming a couple
of new volunteers to our ranks. Hope
fully we can share more next month.
We rue the loss of our weekend staff
person at the end of December. When
grant monies run out, that is the end of
a position, no matter how wonderful
the staff was. This is the case here.
Trish Morningstar was a phenom
enal force and a great asset to the TLC
in terms of the energy and enthusiasm
she brought with her and the life skills
she taught residents. Luckily, we retain
her as a volunteer one night per week.
We would love to welcome and
retain you as a volunteer it you are a
woman 21 years or older, clean and
sober for a minimum of six months,
and have a heart for recovering women
and their issues. Please call me at
541-444-8238 or 1-800-922-1399,
ext. 1238.
one who gets behind the wheel after
drinking is in danger of harming them
selves or others.
Plan ahead. If you plan to be drink
ing, your evening out will be safer and
more enjoyable if you decide ahead of
time how you will get home safely and
who will drive. It’s best to designate a
driver who won't be drinking.
/ x
Parents ...
If you think your child may be at
risk for alcohol, tobacco, or other drug
problems and/or delinquency be
haviors. please call Delina or Jenifer
at I-800-600-5599 or 541-444-8267.
One of them will talk with you
about risk factors and those things that
help protect your child from
developing those problems. They will
help you make a prevention plan that
will support you as a parent and
provide your child with the tools to
make good choices.
January 2007
•
Siletz News
•
7