ANOTHER day, another mother’s plea over the scourge that is methamphetamine. This time, it relates to drug-affected drivers and the risks they pose to others on the road.
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We saw that in August, with the senseless death of popular North Nowra man Scott Morrison, whose life was taken when a drug-affected driver veered on to the wrong side of Culburra Road.
Court documents have emerged that reveal Peter Barclay, also killed in the collision, was affected by ice at the time of the accident. His actions not only devastated a family and a large circle of friends, it robbed the entire community of a much cherished man. This is the toll that ice exacts.
It’s exactly what the mother of a recovering addict wants to prevent happening again. She has called for local police to ramp up drug testing, following the lead of Victoria, where every patrol car is equipped with a kit to test for ice.
She has joined a growing chorus of community members who want drastic action taken to stem what is clearly a growing emergency in regional Australia.
Those voices are finally being heard. Gilmore MP Ann Sudmalis has offered to facilitate a community forum that will involve concerned residents, health workers and police. The idea is to draw the community together to develop a strategy to combat the drug’s spread among young people and to inform parents where they can go to find help.
We await with keen interest more details on the forum and will spread the word far and wide. As a community we need to work together to arrest this problem before more futures are ruined and innocent lives lost.