[quote=ocrenter]. . . so you end up with these heated debates that goes on forever because nobody is stepping up to separate these groups from the very beginning and treat them differently. . . [/quote]
Good post, ocrenter. The Native American groups residing within the continental United States ARE currently being treated differently (and appropriately, I think) on addiction issues in their home regions by professionals and rehab centers who are sensitive to their various cultural beliefs and practices. Their “self-medication” with alcohol and/or other substances is part of the problem due to the “old ways” their elders dealt with mood swings, frustration and depression not being available anymore.
For instance, the tradition of chewing betel nut by many older Pacific Islanders has been replaced by drinking alcohol over the last 25 years or so. This is due to strenuous warnings via word of mouth and the media serving these island nations. These ad campaigns have publicized the dire long-term consequences to the central nervous system and brain and oral cancer that chewing the betel nut causes. In addition, many South Pacific Islanders have had personal experience with a family “elder” who may have succumbed to an early death due to complications of being addicted to the betel nut. See:
