SEEK OUT TRUTH ON DRUG PROBLEM

In Mr. Goldie's letter of June 18 concerning the "legalization of
drugs," he questions the wisdom of decriminalizing the use of illicit
drugs. To this I offer no argument. I take issue with his sweeping
generalizations and simplistic reasoning.

Rehabilitation does not work? Revisit recent editorials in The Daily
Independent concerning drug court pilot programs in Boyd and Greenup
counties. The extremely high success rates of treatment programs on which
local efforts are modeled cannot be denied. Would Mr. Goldie prefer we
build and staff ever more prisons to house ever more non-violent
addicts/alcoholics?

"Most of the druggies aren't able to hold a job..." How many does he
personally know? Are alcoholics included? Ask the professionals:
Unemployed addicts/alcoholics are the exception. Alcoholics and addicts
look and act like our children, our siblings, our parents .

"Nothing good ever comes from drugs." Which drugs? The current scourge de
jour, Oxycontin, is an extremely effective painkiller for those truly
needing it. You weren't referring to medically-prescribed drugs? Heroin,
cocaine, or marijuana perhaps? All these have near cousins in medical use
today.

"Caning the drug users" and "hanging the drug dealers"? Seriously? Suppose
Mom crosses the line from taking her Valium prescribed for an anxiety
disorder into becoming dependent (an "addict") while taking it as
prescribed and in good faith. Where on this slippery slope should Mom earn
Mr. Goldie's caning? What of our children selling drugs merely in order to
continue their own addiction? The problem isn't availability; it's demand.

Seek out the truth on addiction and recovery yourself. Attend open
Alcoholics Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous meetings and talk to people
there. Support the local drug court initiatives and encourage your
representatives to do the same. The lives we save may be our children's or
our own. Think about it.

Joel L. Carter, Olive Hill