Editor, Gazette-Journal:
Recently on a widely watched episode of “60 Minutes” (Dec. 13, 2015), our nation’s top drug official Michael Botticelli announced a much-needed “new direction” on drugs. He stated “the war on drugs is all wrong” and that he wants to change our country’s drug policies. Statistically speaking, he said, “our nation’s 40-year war on drugs is a failure.”
On the one hand, we are faced with 23 million addicts. On the other, there are more people locked up today for drug offenses alone than the entire prison system held in 1970.
Federal prisons are currently housing over half of their inmates for drug offenses, with less than 10 percent having committed a violent crime. Mr. Botticelli also stated “addicts need to be patients, not prisoners,” a very realistic outlook we are not properly handling currently.
Today’s medical evidence shows that addiction is a medical (physiological) issue, not a criminal one. Addiction is the only disease where those suffering seem to have to hit rock bottom before treatment is mandated. By stigmatizing those with addiction, we are only increasing the repeat offender rate in our communities’ jails, regional jails, and state and federal prisons.
Currently, a surge of heroin usage is devastating our country. Nationwide, the over-prescribing of pain medication drives heroin’s recent popularity. This, in turn, causes widespread dependency on opiates. Some, due to the high costs of obtaining prescriptions, unfortunately, turn to heroin to self-medicate, due to the similarities to pain meds and its lower cost. Sadly, heroin is easily accessible to addicts, evidently much easier than prescriptions to acquire.
The drug official, Mr. Botticelli, also gave some solace to addicts, stating that “there is help and treatment available.” We need more governors and legislators’ attention to recognize the critical need for effective treatment programs with addiction specialists, in favor of reducing repetitive drug arrests and drug-related court workloads. Our country would improve, no doubt, by rehabilitating people through treatment programs rather than incarcerating them.
Consider the huge amount of money generated through federal grants from every “drug bust.” Some states have begun to use their resources more effectively, such as the “Good Samaritan” law in Massachusetts and other states. It is preposterous to think that a person should be incarcerated for one to 20 years for an addiction! It is evident that a more positive, encouraging approach is desperately needed, an opportunity that offers hope.
Bryan Willingham
Middle Peninsula Regional
Security Center
Saluda, Va.