Letter to the Editor: Preventing drug abuse starts with individuals
Sometimes, the messenger negates the efficacy of their intentions. A recent letter you printed from Ken Abraham about ending the war on drugs is an example (“To the AG: Stop the ‘war on drugs,’” Feb. 16).
I find his initial plea to be valid, just not his assumptions.
The war on drugs was an ill-conceived idea from the Nixon era. In the 50 years since Richard Nixon made that declaration, we have spent trillions of taxpayer dollars on a program that has no endgame.
In 1983, Los Angeles Police Chief Daryl Gates tacked on an equally useless program called D.A.R.E. (Drug Abuse Resistance Education), which was pointless in that it targeted children in minority neighborhoods, where drugs were already rampant. Though completely ineffective, billions more dollars were pumped into the program that still carries on to this day in many areas.
Politicians want to make baseless claims like Mr. Abraham does. Stopping the government-backed “war” will never reduce violence. The South American drug cartels slaughter hundreds of people yearly. They have now become so brazen as to corrupt local law enforcement agencies whose tentacles extend to our southern border. China has now entered into the business with even stronger, more powerful and lethal drugs.
Sadly, we aren’t so lily-white ourselves. For years, physicians have handed out mind-altering medications like candy. OxyContin, oxycodone, Xanax and Ativan were prescribed without too much concern. Then, when politicians realized the outcome, an equally ill-advised decision was made to censure doctors and shame patients. The only outcome was predictable. People who have a legitimate need for the medications suddenly find them rationed. Illicit trade in prescription drugs is just as rampant as cocaine. And since people are dependent on these controlled drugs, the cartels have offered heroin and fentanyl as cheaper, more deadly substitutes.
So let’s stop the hypocrisy. Admit that prevention of abuse lies solely in the individual. When the Delaware legislature is working to legalize marijuana use and setting up “compassion centers” throughout the state, you see how the government is planning to subsidize drug dealing. Spare me the charade. Let the police enforce the laws but stop taking funds from them in a battle that was lost long ago.
George Roof
Magnolia
