August 10, 2017
On the front lines
Summit seeks to battle substance abuse
By Jerry W. Kram
“I have been on the front lines,” said Dr. Monica Mayer.
While she is a veteran of the armed forces, Mayer was speaking about her time as an emergency room doctor fighting to save the lives of those who had overdosed on drugs, or were injured by drunk drivers, or dealing with prescription drug addicts seeking a fix.
Mayer, whose Indian name is Xubaari Cagi – Good Medicine – has made battling the scourge of drug and alcohol abuse a major goal of her administration as the North Segment Representative on the MHA Nation Tribal Business Council. In pursuit of that goal, she brought together experts in law enforcement, medicine, treatment and counseling as well as individuals recovering from substance abuse for the Good Medicine Addiction Summit at the 4 Bears Events Center this week.
“This is the first time I am aware of that anyone has put together a summit on drugs and alcohol in North Dakota,” Mayer said. “We are very proud to host that and have the vision to start organizing our communities.”
Organizers hoped to get about 150 people to this inaugural Addiction Summit. Mayer said that more than 100 people preregistered for the conference and another 100 registered at the door on Tuesday.
“We tried to get the word out there,” Mayer said. “Two hundred people exceeds my expectations. This is our first summit and I want to have one in each of the four years of my term. We want to move forward with prevention and intervention strategies for treatment and recovery.”
While she is a veteran of the armed forces, Mayer was speaking about her time as an emergency room doctor fighting to save the lives of those who had overdosed on drugs, or were injured by drunk drivers, or dealing with prescription drug addicts seeking a fix.
Mayer, whose Indian name is Xubaari Cagi – Good Medicine – has made battling the scourge of drug and alcohol abuse a major goal of her administration as the North Segment Representative on the MHA Nation Tribal Business Council. In pursuit of that goal, she brought together experts in law enforcement, medicine, treatment and counseling as well as individuals recovering from substance abuse for the Good Medicine Addiction Summit at the 4 Bears Events Center this week.
“This is the first time I am aware of that anyone has put together a summit on drugs and alcohol in North Dakota,” Mayer said. “We are very proud to host that and have the vision to start organizing our communities.”
Organizers hoped to get about 150 people to this inaugural Addiction Summit. Mayer said that more than 100 people preregistered for the conference and another 100 registered at the door on Tuesday.
“We tried to get the word out there,” Mayer said. “Two hundred people exceeds my expectations. This is our first summit and I want to have one in each of the four years of my term. We want to move forward with prevention and intervention strategies for treatment and recovery.”
