Excerpt of letter sent to Commissioner
Frank Noonan and AG Kathy Kane:
Paradigm Shift = The
process whereby firmly held beliefs are pressed against and ultimately broken; a
novel idea and construct emerges.
In the 11/24/13 Times Leader, our Attorney General says, “Kane said proactive approaches are key in dealing with the
heroin problem, which she called a “war.”
I agree that proactive approaches are “key,” however Ms. Kane
I am nettled by the use of the word “war.” If you mean the traditional war of
taking out the dealers/suppliers… then I would ask that you look at the
efficacy of the “war on drugs” the past 45 years. The war has been lost. It
hasn’t even been close.
I believe in the “war” aspect… but it must be a war on the
users (the demand for drugs). You can’t argue with the “math.” If
there are no users (demand) there will be no supply. ALL drug
related crime goes away. Please see http://wbtruth.blogspot.com/2013/11/more-of-times-leader-article.html for details.
Let us look at some phenomenal successes we currently
enjoy in Wilkes-Barre.
~ We feed our hungry at
soup kitchens which must have the effect, to a certain degree, of minimizing
the need for these people to steal food.
~ Community Counseling
medicates throngs of citizens with mental illness so that they are not left to
fend for themselves with an illness that may overwhelm them. The benefits that
this center has provided are immense.
~ Is it such a stretch
that we would help and taper off (hopefully) those on drugs?
TO TREAT THE DISEASE AND NOT
THE CRIME? There is a terrible misconception that
those who take hard drugs enjoy them. This is a theory that must be crushed.
There is nary a penalty worse for an addict than the pain of the addiction
itself. Ask anyone in NA or AA. Nobody has fun. Most describe it as hell and
all want to recover if they only get the right help (along with their own
sincere attempts).
If the users (the demand side) can be helped in
professionally run clinics, society would benefit manifold. In fact, we are
already doing this in small degrees. Suboxone is used to treat heroin addiction
and Librium is used to treat alcoholism (in rehab). The problem is that a huge
black market exists which defeats the goal of reducing crime.
I assume there are safe ways to treat, taper, and
ultimately treat any type of addiction. This must be provided the same way we
now provide food/medicine to those in need. I am not a pharmacist nor a pharmacist…
but when there’s a will there is a way.
Two legs of the chair are in place. To stand we need
a third.
THE
END OF DRUG SUPPLIERS (Think about
this!)
~ There would be no
suppliers if addicts can take get treatment/stabilization for free at a clinic.
(Some have brought up the specter of first time users gaming the system. These
people can easily be weeded out through drug screening. Plus, I have never
heard of a first time user at a methadone clinic).
~ There would be no more
turf wars. There would be no need to steal drugs from each another. The rate of
gun violence would fall off a cliff.
~ Neighborhoods would be
safe. Police would not risk their lives in drug raids.
~ No more
store hold-ups if addict can safely get drug
~ Shoplifting
would drop as addicts could afford the drug.
~ Women would
no longer need to prostitute themselves to get their drugs.
~ Our jails
would empty. Think of the savings!
TREATMENT
If an addict roams the street and is under the influence
– would you rather that he got drugs from a dealer with money he stole to get…
or from a professional clinic that knows this person’s needs, is treating this
person, and is treating this person as “sick” and not “bad.” WHICH IS BETTER FOR SOCIETY?
JAIL
What a perfect setting for treatment! You have
sober/clean individuals who have nothing but time on their hands. They can’t go
anywhere. Yet we don’t treat them. Instead we cage them. Nuts!
COMMUNITY
FINANCES
Think of the monumental savings in emptying our
jails. It is rather disturbing that we have created a business of “caging
humans” that keeps growing. Does anyone think that people have become “bad”
over the years. Or do you think it might have to do with the disease of drug proliferation?
Much of the money spent in illegal drugs would be
transferred to the medical clinics. Doctors, physician assistants, nurses,
counselors, and pharmaceutical companies would benefit. Before, all this money
was going to the dealers. THINK ABOUT
THIS.
No idea is perfect. But I guarantee that this plan
exceptionally surpasses what we now do. It isn’t even a contest.
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