SET A HIGH BOUNTY ON DRUG DEALERS

When I was a boy, there were certain critters that were still considered
predatory and dangerous to animals and children.

In order to reduce this population, a bounty was set. Young men who wanted
to earn extra spending money, would bring in their tails or ears and
collect the bounty.

We need more than just the ears and tails of drug dealers to begin to
reduce this problem; we need their bodies. So, I'm suggesting that we
establish an irresistible bounty, high enough to make even the most timid
roll over on their relatives to collect. Upon conviction, these dealers
should be given the maximum sentence and immediately shipped to a Mexican
prison.

Prescription drugs are becoming the "drug of choice" as Internet sales and
local drug thefts escalate. It has become more difficult to determine the
distribution, the source and who is the enemy. Prescription and
over-the-counter (OTC) medications are fast becoming the new "party" drugs
for many teenagers, according to the Department of Public Health.

Prevalence:

Percent of persons 12 years of age and over with any illicit drug use in
the past month: 7.9 percent (2004)

Percent of persons 12 years of age and over with marijuana use in the past
month: 6.1 percent (2004)

Percent of persons 12 years of age and over with any non-medical use of a
psychotherapeutic drug in the past month: 2.5 percent (2004)

Source: National Center for Health Statistics. These statistics are three
years old and we believe them to be very conservative.

The NIH says:

"Drug abuse leads to violence, separation of parents and children, loss of
jobs, feelings of hopelessness, serious money problems, single parenthood,
anxiety over childcare needs, bad relationships, and emotional and
behavioral difficulties in children. Many drug abusers end up in prison or
jail. Sometimes they steal property to get money for drugs: or, often they
will commit crimes while 'high' on drugs."

"In 1999, 1.5 million children had a parent in prison. Most of these
children (nearly 900,000) were younger than 10 years old. Children with
parents who abuse drugs and alcohol are widely considered at high risk for
a range of physical and behavioral problems, including substance abuse
problems."

"Drugs other than alcohol (e.g., marijuana and cocaine) are involved in
about 18 percent of motor vehicle driver deaths. These other drugs are
generally used in combination with alcohol (Jones et al. 2003). More than
half of the 414 child passengers ages 14 and younger who died in
alcohol-related crashes during 2005 were riding with the drinking driver
(NHTSA 2006)."

"In 2005, nearly 1.4 million drivers were arrested for driving under the
influence of alcohol or narcotics (Department of Justice 2005). That's less
than 1 percent of the 159 million self-reported episodes of
alcohol-impaired driving among U.S. adults each year (Quinlan et al. 2005)."

It is past time to seriously consider draconian methods to squash drug
distribution to our children.

James Baker is a 30-year resident of Indian Hill.