Should we create policies that treat drug abuse as a health problem rather than a crime problem?

Yes

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by Victor Strange

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Every 17 seconds an American citizen is arrested for drug charges, and more than $50 billion worth of taxpayers hard earned money is being spent on the war on drugs.
It costs more than $50 dollars a day to house an inmate, and America has more than two million of its citizens behind bars right now!

If you did just a little math you would find that the penal institution is moving more than 100 million dollars a day on inmates. That is absolutely ridiculous, could not this money be used to help rehabilitate our citizens?

Lets face it, there are drugs like methamphetamine, that can be cooked up in a bathroom and even Marijuana can be grown in a closet. But Cocaine, Heroin and Opium are not grown in the U.S. it is imported! The fact is the drug business is very big business and the lower class citizens of America are carrying its sacrificial cross on their backs.

Drug abuse amongst the lower class has a distinct correlation to joblessness. People turn to alcohol, prescription drugs and illegal drugs, in an attempt to escape the pain of their reality. Young men and women turn to illegal business in attempts to put food in their mouths and their children's mouths. America has lost 80 thousand jobs last month! It does not take a genius to understand that if alternate employment venues do not open soon, crime and drug problems will only increase.

Drugs in them-self are not the problem, the problem is education, employment and social policies. The problem is corruption and compromise amongst law makers and political heads. A person does not wake up and say to themselves that they want to be a drug addict, but situations and the environmental circumstances can foster an atmosphere that is conducive to drug use and ultimately addiction.

If we are going to penalize the average Joe for drug use, what about the individuals who are allowing these drugs to filter through our borders and into our streets? What about the pharmaceutical conglomerates that are producing highly addictive substances for American consumption at record proportions?

If any one should be penalized, it should be those who are responsible for the presence of these drugs. How about the Border Patrol, the ATF, the FBI and Merck. They have more control over the traffic of drugs in our cities and states then the crack addict in the alley way.

Drug abuse is indeed a health problem, a mental health problem to be exact. People become dependent upon the experience that the drug provides in order cope with life. It is true that many have gotten into the drug culture through experimentation and other means, but the addiction and dependency can be triggered and reinforced by outward pressures.

Crime policies concerning drug use have been the catalyst to Americas increasing numbers of convictions and lock-ups. As we look at society we can simply watch the underprivileged social class of America become 20th century slaves. They will be slaves to drugs or slaves to the penal institution unless something is done.

Drug abuse is indeed a crime problem, but I do not see the heroin addict as the culprit. The criminal charges need to be brought up on individuals that are echelons above the abuser. Politicians need to stop vilifying the abuser, make help available maybe even mandatory for the abuser but not prison.

It is time that we checkmate some of these real drug kingpins and let true justice prevail!

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