DRUG USE PLAYS ROLE IN VIOLENCE

If you want to make a dent in gun violence, drink only alcohol at your next
party.

Why? Because approximately 80 percent of shootings involve some aspect of
the illegal drug trade. Thus gun violence is primarily a subset of the
illegal drug problem.

Why do we have such a rate gun violence? To be honest it is the high demand
for illegal drugs in our country. If we can stand to be brutally honest, we
can admit that all of those who buy or use illegal drugs are fueling gun
violence.

Everyone wants to have a good time. But with so many lives lost we have to
ask, "At what price is a good time?" We can debate whether illegal drug use
is harmful or harmless to the casual user. There is no debating that the
illegal drug trade is lethal to the 17- to 19-year-old gang members who
make up the bulk of the 13 children killed each day by gun violence. If
we're really serious about ending gun violence we have to ask ourselves,
"Which is more important, my own pleasure or a young person's life?"

John Steffan, Arroyo Grande