Srila Prabhupada said that good association is crucial to our spiritual development to it is obvious that bad association can only lead us into trouble.

Parents must be vigilant about who their children are associating with. The drug habit can start with only one small experiment and is often obtained from a friend. A frightening drug prevalent in the West Auckland area is “P” or Methamphetamine. It is a very addictive stimulant drug that activates certain systems in the brain. It is chemically related to amphetamine but, at comparable doses, the effects of methamphetamine are much more potent, longer lasting, and more harmful to the central nervous system. This drug is being blamed for theft, violence, suicides, and family break ups. A police officer at a recent drug seminar when asked where it all ended said, “eventually in a coffin”. The mental condition, bi-polar can be triggered by just a single dose of an addictive substance.

Although the temple should be open to everyone who wishes to worship, it is important to the safety of the devotees that anyone who has criminal tendencies be identified, and the congregation warned of the possible dangers surrounding these people. Not only do drug addicts harm themselves but they often lie and steal to obtain the drugs they are so dependent on.

It is difficult to turn a drug addict around and it is their choice to continue in the direction they are going. Sadly, it is the responsibility of each one of us in our community to protect the innocent by exposing those who are a danger to them.

I urge us all to have the courage to inform the temple council of anyone suspected of using or supplying drugs so that this very real danger can be controlled.