DRUG ABUSE IS OFTEN REFLECTED IN VIOLENT CRIMES

Editor:

I am writing this letter regarding the upcoming election and Proposition
36. To those individuals who consider drug abuse a non-violent crime, I can
only wish they be present when children are removed from caretakers who are
caught up in illegal drug use. Perhaps they are not as familiar with the
abuse children suffer, as I am a social worker. I doubt they have witnessed
multiple bite marks on infants from an addict who wanted to relieve the
tension in his or her jaw when withdrawing from methamphetamine. Or perhaps
they are not aware of infants who were exposed to the second-hand smoke of
the drug their parents were using. I will not forget the three-month-old
that no longer had an appetite and was rapidly losing weight while now
crying inconsolably. Her urine test was positive for methamphetamine.
However, felony child endangerment convictions do not correlate to a
violent crime. Drug abuse is often reflected in violent crimes towards
children. These are not incidents that would occur without the influence of
the drug, which only proves the dangerousness of drug addiction. Should the
drug abuser now be less accountable to the legal system?

While Prop. 36 ties the hands of the legal system, it will also have a
devastating effect on the children left in the care of those who are
allowed to repeatedly fail treatment programs. I do not take issue with
treatment for drug abusers, but allowing them to remain in the community
after they fail treatment programs time after time is a frightening
prospect. I ask those who truly care for their community and the innocent
victims of drug abuse to vote NO on Prop. 36.

Gayle Mitchell, MSW
Cottonwood