As someone who has been in recovery for 23 years, I have seen first-hand from friends how treatment works, and just punishment doesn't. The so-called "war on drugs" since the Nixon administration has been a miserable failure in terms of reducing addiction and overdosing. The current Mexican President made an excellent point (although did…
As someone who has been in recovery for 23 years, I have seen first-hand from friends how treatment works, and just punishment doesn't. The so-called "war on drugs" since the Nixon administration has been a miserable failure in terms of reducing addiction and overdosing. The current Mexican President made an excellent point (although didn't harp on it) that if we want to stop fentanyl coming from Mexico, we should work more on drying up demand. Punishment alone may keep people clean for a short period but it doesn't address WHY they became addicts - that comes from the hard work of recovery. The cycle of despair in rural areas that is a big part of the opioid crisis has to be addressed holistically, or people will simply return to their drug of choice - or just switch to something else when the government cracks down on supply. It is also worth mentioning that the crack cocaine epidemic was not taken nearly as seriously by Republicans (and some Democrats) as the opioid crisis, but that's my social justice flag going up.
As someone who has been in recovery for 23 years, I have seen first-hand from friends how treatment works, and just punishment doesn't. The so-called "war on drugs" since the Nixon administration has been a miserable failure in terms of reducing addiction and overdosing. The current Mexican President made an excellent point (although didn't harp on it) that if we want to stop fentanyl coming from Mexico, we should work more on drying up demand. Punishment alone may keep people clean for a short period but it doesn't address WHY they became addicts - that comes from the hard work of recovery. The cycle of despair in rural areas that is a big part of the opioid crisis has to be addressed holistically, or people will simply return to their drug of choice - or just switch to something else when the government cracks down on supply. It is also worth mentioning that the crack cocaine epidemic was not taken nearly as seriously by Republicans (and some Democrats) as the opioid crisis, but that's my social justice flag going up.