UNDERSTAND THE CAUSES OF ADDICTION

I was quite surprised to read the column written by Bob Hughes in the
Tuesday March 7 issue of the Leader Post in which he stated that drug
dealers should be handed down the worst punishment ever; death. I
really hope he is joking.

I do not condone drug dealing, but I understand it. In a society
where it takes an education to land a good job, drug dealing may be a
last resort to those who are not educated or just want to make a
quick buck. Education costs money, and those who have been on student
loans know that in the end the money will still come out of our
pocket. Transportation, shelter, food and clothing costs are only the
bare necessities. Money is glamourized on television and in movies
and money offers security.

When it comes to drugs, the drug buyers are as guilty as the ones who
sell the drugs. That statement may be hard for some to believe, but I
truly think that everybody makes a conscious choice when it comes to
doing drugs. Some people say that an addict is born an addict, but
really, the addict still makes the first choice to pick up that drug.
With so many free treatment options available, the excuse that an
addict "can not quit" is simply false.

Drug dealers usually start off as addicts themselves. After dabbling
in the underground for a while, they soon move up to dealing drugs as
a way to generate income and feed their own habit. We cannot
sympathize with the drug addicts. You must remember that a drug habit
is an expensive habit. How do you think most of these addicts can
afford their drugs? That is where crime comes into the picture. Break
and enters, robberies, prostitution, shoplifting and other crimes
help feed the addict's habit.

As you can see, there is much more than just drug dealing that leads
to the turmoil in our society. A whole plethora of crime is committed
by a "junkie".

Lastly, we must remember that drug dealers are people. It is inane to
consider them lower than the rest of the human race.

Remember, just because somebody deals drugs does not mean that they
intentionally set out to kill innocent people. They are merely
feeding their own habit or making money immorally, if you will. In my
opinion, drug dealing will always be around. It is like other age-old
crimes such as prostitution, robbery and murder.

Perhaps if we educated these people affordably or provided them with
homes and transportation, they would feel they had other options. As
the old saying goes, "You can give a man a fish, and he will eat for
a day. Or, you can teach a man how to fish and he will eat for life."