ASHEVILLE CAN'T AFFORD TO NOT TAKE ON SCOURGE OF ILLEGAL DRUG ADDICTION

I applaud Councilman Carl Mumpower for continuing to fight the good
fight against illegal drugs in the city of Asheville. He stands up
for what he knows is right, even when it is unpopular, even when he
is mocked in editorials and political cartoons in the local papers.
Other members of City Council seem more concerned with "reducing
carbon footprints" and building greenways near the French Broad
River. They ignore a festering problem as drug dealers from as far as
El Salvador and as close as Atlanta victimize our fair county, as
does the tragedy of human addiction.

They grasp at high-minded "being needs" while large numbers of people
suffer in squalor in practically barricaded ghettos of public
housing, replete with shootings and open-air drug deals. The
"projects" of Asheville are not the only concern; meth labs in north
Buncombe County and drug dens in Swannanoa all contribute to a sad trend.

Legalization no answer

There are some libertarian-minded conservatives who argue that
legalizing such hard drugs would solve all of our problems.

This is absurd. There are plenty of legal and semi-legal drugs
equally devastating lives. Some are even prescribed.

And drugs do not affect only the users, but entire families,
neighborhoods and the foundations of society that drug use places
strain against. As a primary care provider for in-crisis youth in
this city, I see firsthand how drugs destroy lives (of the "innocent"
and "guilty" alike). I have a front row seat to the fallout.

Are adults capable of making choices that affect their own health?

Perhaps, but it is never that simple. Even if it were not for the
collateral damage (which will always exist), addiction and the
psychological/physiological damage caused by drugs rob people of
their ability to make rational choices. Gambling and sexual
addictions are also troubling.

Addiction's blight

Such legalization-minded thinkers, in my opinion, haven't tasted
enough of the "reality on the ground" and their idealism is not
helping to alleviate the very real troubles our community faces.

They are an opponent of practical progress as much as the politicians
who would prefer to ignore the drug problem altogether. If ignored,
it will only get worse.

Come to beautiful Asheville. Watch a Tourists game, then walk two
blocks and buy a gram of heroin.

Serious action needed

As a self-described consequentialist libertarian, the economist
Milton Friedman argued that every drug should be dealt with as a
separate issue. Shoplifting, bank robberies and grand theft auto are
all theft-issues dealt with, prosecuted, and prevented in different ways.

Perhaps marijuana, Vicodin abuse, meth, crack, ecstasy and other
substances should be viewed and dealt with as separate issues.

That was Friedman's theory and it is hard to say how such a thing
would shake out as a practical policy. Create a semiautonomous task
force for each major substance category? Obviously, manpower and
money is limited.

Always. But creative thinking and courageous action are essential in
Asheville's fight against drugs. Dr. Mumpower has been a positive
force in this fight, and sometimes a lone voice crying out in the
wilderness of public policy.

Justin Powlison moved to Asheville after receiving his B.A. in
psychology from Cal State-Los Angeles. He works at a shelter for
youth in crisis and plans to pursue a PhD.