Is the War on Drugs worth fighting? That question has been asked many time by many people. I am not a subject matter expert, but I did spend 30 years witnessing the ravages of drug abuse and addiction while working as a police officer. I also spent over 5 years working specifically on drug crimes while serving as an agent for the Maine Drug Enforcement Agency. I dare say that the only subject matter experts are those who have lost everything because of their addiction. You could also add the surviving family members who lost a son, daughter, grandchild, or other relative to a fatal overdose. There is no doubt that drugs kill, but our overall approach to dealing with the drug epidemic is only exasperating the problem. Many states have started to decriminalize the use and possession of small amounts of illicit drugs such as Heroin and Cocaine. When the “Government” legalizes something, what message does that send to our kids and other impressionable citizens? It tells them that it must be okay…this started with the legalization of Marijuana for “medicinal purposes”, which was clearly just the inroad to ultimate legalization. Oh, look how far we’ve come with that.
The War on Drugs should be fought to preserve our country, it can be fought using a basic premise that I will soon explain, and it must be fought if we truly care about our citizens. Addiction is all encompassing…you need that drug or substance to get through the day. The withdrawals are agonizing, but more often than not they will only make you want to die instead of actually killing you. The drug world is a nasty world to live in. It brings out the worst in people and is never pretty. Don’t believe me, check this out.
https://www.methproject.org/answers/will-using-meth-change-how-i-look.html#Mug-Shot-Match-Up
The drug trade is a business, plain and simple. Those selling the drugs are doing it purely for profit, or to support their own addiction. Neither is good, but a distinction should be made between the two. Like any war, the War on Drugs must be fought on many fronts. A one-sided approach will do little to stem the flow of drugs into our streets, protect our citizens from fatal overdoses, or reduce the demand for the now often fatal poison. We will never eliminate all illegal drugs, but we can sure do a lot better than we are now. You have to have the want, the will, and the where with all to make a difference before a difference can be made.
I believe that the stool method is a great starting point when it comes to combatting the drug crisis. A stool has three legs and those legs need to be equal ,or the stool will wobble or fall over. Each leg on the War on Drugs stool would have a different, yet equally important component.
Leg #1 – Prevention…we need to realistically educate our youth to the dangers of using drugs (even once) because an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. We fall well short here, but there is sure room for improvement!!! DARE is a great program, but it educates the wrong students. Most kids in 3rd and 4th grade don’t even know what drugs are, but what realistic education is there for kids entering middle or high school?
Leg #2 – Enforcement…we need to hold people accountable for their actions. Merely accepting drug addiction as a “disease” does nothing to entice those addicted to put the work in to get and remain clean and sober. We need to demonize illegal drugs and those selling them to our kids, regardless of their race, creed, religion, or background. We as a society have become soft on crime. We have turned into a “Not my fault” country and we’re quick to blame someone or something else for our wrongdoing. Without accountability, there is no incentive to stop bad behavior or actions. People are dying daily and the first step towards solving a problem is admitting you have one. We need to support law enforcement and incarcerate criminals instead of coddling them.
Leg #3 – Rehabilitation…those addicted to drugs should have a pathways to rehabilitation which will offer them an opportunity to get sober. Life is all about opportunity and seizing it. Those addicted need to put in the work and have the want to stay sober. Nobody can do that for them. If they fail, perhaps they get another chance? If they continuously fail, when does personal responsibility kick in? When do they go to jail? When do we as a society protect them from themselves because they clearly can’t do it on their own. More importantly, when do we protect us from them?
These are all tough questions and the answers are plentiful, but we need to start having these conversations. Close to 100,000 citizens died from drug overdoses in the US in 2022. If this isn’t reason enough to make serious changes…what is?
