Our growing drug problem

 

 

"Call it heroin, call it 'horse', or call it what it really is - poison..."

This posting might end up where I have a different opinion than some of my most ardent Libertarian friends. It is about drugs, and what they are doing to our society. What they are doing to our young people. What they are doing to our moral fabric. This is a vexing problem which is only getting worse every year.

It is all over the metro area now. Nobody, or no area, seems to be immune. How bad is it? Just in Hennepin County, heroin overdoses have gone from 8 deaths in 2010 to 54 this past year. In the very safe confine of Anoka County, heroine is suspected of causing 21 fatal overdoses last year, up from two in 2008. Just this morning in the paper, there was on obit for a 19 year old kid who died of an "accidental overdose".

What can we do? Here are some thoughts:

• Anoka County is having three open meetings at three different locations within the county to address this problem. Bravo for that! We need more however, and in every county.
• Change the drug laws. If you get caught using a Class A drug like heroin, you get no jail time, but mandatory "in patient" treatment.
• If you get caught selling a Class A drug like heroin, it is 10 years (no parole) for the first offense, 20 for second, life for third. Selling a lethal drug is no better than attempted murder.
• Let us face facts. Regardless of where it is grown, the vast majority of heroin comes up through Mexico, and then across our southern border. If you get caught smuggling heroine into this country, you get 20 years in a Federal pen with no parole. Period - no exceptions.
• Finally, we need to control our borders. They continue to be a mess, and only a fraction of illegal immigrants or drugs are caught at the border. We need to starve the beast.

We can continue to turn a deaf ear and a blind eye to this problem. Or we can do something. Kids with addictive personalities are particularly susceptible to this poison. I am sick and tired of seeing evil win costly battles in our war on drugs. We need better prevention, better treatment, and a cessation of punishing the victims. The only time a drug user should see incarceration is if he or she refuses treatment. At that point in time, that person would be incarcerated for their own good.

There is a huge difference between recreational use of marijuana and being a slave to a Class A drug like heroin. We need to use common sense in how we handle our drug issue. I really don't give a rat's behind if we legalize pot or not. I do however, care deeply about getting all other drugs out of our country. Our kids are our seed corn. Lets help the ones who need it. Let us help them fight this beast.