SPEND STATE'S BUDGET SURPLUS TREATING SUBSTANCE ABUSE

With all the attention given to alcohol- and other drug-related
crimes in the news lately, I have to ask this question: Are the
Alaska legislators, the governor and the people of Alaska missing the
boat here?

When detox facilities close and people are denied access to substance
abuse treatment, it doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out
what's going on here. Alcohol- and drug-related crimes annually cost
this state three-quarters of a billion dollars. So the governor asks,
what should the state do with the surplus money it has? It's a
no-brainer, governor. Put it into substance abuse treatment.

The state of Alaska boasts about its no-wrong-door policy when it
comes to substance abuse treatment. The people on these program wait
lists, some of whom have been waiting for months, will tell you it's
more like the closed-door policy, because every time they seek help,
they are denied access. A young woman died this summer from a drug
overdose waiting to get into a state-funded program I work for.
Granted, she took the drugs that ultimately took her life, but she
also had the courage to seek treatment knowing her life had become
unmanageable. How many more people have to die?

- -- Ron Greene

Anchorage