1997 (22:00 mins) Island Topics #12 ALCOHOL & DRUGS HEALTH
Over the past decade, the people in the Commonwealth of Northern Marianas have been silent witnesses to a raging storm. This storm, which has swept over other parts of the Pacific, is a killer, claiming lives and destroying communities. It is man-made and known by many names: shabu, glass, or ice; crystal methamphetamine. This video documents the destroyed lives and devastation that the ice epidemic in the Northern Marianas has wrought. Small school children offer prayers that their daddies may stop using drugs and wives tell of the toll drugs have taken in their families. We see abundant examples of the social impact of ice use and hear community leaders telling about how they propose to conduct the war against this drug. Drug users testify to the destructive power of the drug in their lives, but there are also stories by persons who have broken themselves of the habit and reclaimed their lives.