Drugs, Addiction, Defeat | Eastern NC Now

Drugs, Addiction, Defeat

BY: HOOD RICHARDSON

Most of us are very upset about inflation and how it has changed and is changing our lives. Drug addiction has been severely impacting all of society for at least 30 years. We have been able to afford drug addiction during this time, that is to pay for it. Today the combined burden of inflation and drug addiction may be more than we can financially support.

Add to the money situation the emotional impact of the destruction of children, marriages, and families. There are severe burdens on government institutions ranging from jails to welfare hand outs. We are reaching a tipping point. Most non-addicts are tired of the financial and emotional cost of illegal drugs. I am careful to separate non-addicts from addicts. For the most part, addicts are not interested in doing away with drugs. I am including addicts who support the legalization of any narcotic. This includes marijuana.

The group that supports legalizing marijuana and the families of chemicals that are derived from marijuana has spent hundreds of millions of dollars across the United States to convince us that there is nothing wrong with the use of marijuana. The legitimate medical community tells us that marijuana and chemicals derived from marijuana are not good for our health. Why legalize marijuana, because it is an entry level drug to more potent and expensive drugs.

There is an effort in the North Carolina Legislature to make marijuana substances legal. Much money is being spent and given to elected officials’ campaign funds by various groups supporting changing these chemicals from illegal to legal. Unless the public pushes back harder than we are now pushing, legalization is on the way.

Vape shops provide and sell many things that are not healthy or good for humans. They sell all the paraphernalia necessary to use harmful substances. There is a serious question as to whether they should be allowed to operate. Today there is approximately one vape shop for every 3,000 residents of Beaufort County. I have seen adults take children with them into a vape shop. My opinion is they are contributing to the delinquency of a minor, which is illegal.

We have talked, preached, educated, rehabilitated, and punished in an effort to reduce (eliminate) the use of habit-forming substances. None of this has worked. Our laws are based on permissive use. Our rehab programs and criminal system is based on permissive use. Almost all of our elected officials acting as a governing body are permissive and very reluctant to pass laws that would eliminate the presence and use of illegal substances.

What I mean by “permissive use” is our criminal laws and rehabilitation programs accept the continued presence of these illegal substances. That is, if a person does not have more than a specified amount of marijuana he has not violated the law. Permissive rehabilitation for narcotics involves providing another narcotic to replace the illegal narcotic. And then we find these substances are narcotics themselves.  Our society has never set out to defeat drugs. Our rules, laws and rehabilitation system permits and accepts illegal drug use.

The only nations that have defeated illegal drugs have zero tolerance laws with severe penalties for possession. In these societies there are no debates about what a legal quantity is.  There is only one legal quantity and that is “zero” or none. Possession is guilt which leads to punishment.  In zero tolerance societies the debate is over how much punishment. The range of punishment is from death, to life in prison or many years in prison and then in some countries, deportation. I have no sympathy for those traveling idiots who are detained by governments for possession.  Somehow, our government works hard to get them released. That in itself is permissive.

There are ten countries that readily impose the death penalty for selling or dealing in illegal drugs. They are Malaysia, China, Vietnam, Iran, Thailand, Dubai, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Indonesia and the Philippines. There are numerous others who have the death penalty for dealing in their laws but rarely impose it. Having it in the law deters a lot of people from dealing. All the countries who have the death penalty for dealing have had serious problems with large parts of the population becoming addicted and unproductive during their history. The United States is on the road to severe addiction.  It is possible that this form of rot from inside will deliver us to our enemies.

The only way drugs have been controlled, by any country in the world, is with zero tolerance laws. This makes sense because addiction is very easily acquired. There are many unsuspected addicts among us today. That odd behavior and eating habits can be a tip off to drug use.

In Beaufort County the estimate is that one half of those in jail are there because of drug related crimes. That is a continuing expense of $50 per day for 40 people. That is an annual cost for jail of more than $700,000. Bear in mind there are many more people charged with drug related crimes who made bond and are among us. Blood tests for drugs are becoming more and more important in traffic accidents. There is an additional cost in Beaufort County of about seven million dollars for the more than 100 deputies, social workers, health department and school employees who are employed as a result of the permissive presence of drugs.

We need to focus on dealers by providing stiff sentences for dealing or selling. We need better management of our prison system. Some prisons are well known for the presence of drugs. Our permissive prison system requires better management, with more security systems and the discharge and criminal conviction of anyone who is involved in drug distribution within the prison system.

Our legislators need to increase criminal penalties up to and including the death penalty for dealing or trafficking. We need to build more jails to house drug dealers and install effective jail security systems. For those who complain about the cost, we are saving money and society every time we put a drug dealer away for 20 years or more.

It is past time we decide we are not going to allow illegal drug use and abuse of legal drugs. The only way to fix the problem is to stop the dealers of illegal drugs. It is past time we put a stop to this awful waste of humanity.