OVERCOMING DRUG STORIES DO HAPPEN

I think it truly wonderful that our hometown newspaper shows the good
things that can happen when a person tries to turn their life around from
drug abuse.

Society has a misconception that once a person becomes a drug user that
they will always be a user. This thought process is the backbone of the
"mandatory-minimum, lock-them-up" mentality.

We must never forget that treatment can help users break the destructive
cycle that accompanies addiction.

I often wonder if the mandatory-minimum folks know that costs around
$30,000 to house an inmate for a year. For the same amount of money, a
person could be sent through a quality private treatment program not once,
but twice.

Let's save our prison spaces for the violent and those who prey upon children.

KEVIN EVERSOLE

Muskogee