“Let’s get outraged,” indeed

I'm going to keep this short and simple in response to [the letter] “Let's Get Outraged, Folks” [Aug. 18, Xpress]. Albert Einstein once said, "The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results."

It's time to apply that wisdom to the problem at hand: the war on drugs.

The war on drugs fits Einstein's definition perfectly in that regard. Our “elected leaders” keep throwing more and more debt/money into building more and more prisons to house more and more nonviolent offenders. Most of these prisons are privately owned, for-profit facilities built and kept on the taxpayer’s dime; [they] now house more people per capita than China's prisons.

Hey! This isn't working. It's worth repeating that this isn't working until everyone has the “Aha” moment. I won't trouble the reader with statistics, other than to say that the more tax dollars that are spent to “fight the war” the more addicts there are per capita. Is there a link? Of course there is.

Do drugs lead to crime? Only in an atmosphere of prohibition.

If it's been said once its been said a thousand times: lift the prohibition and drug-related crime will decrease dramatically.

Treatment technologies and centers will thrive. Most addicts don't want to be addicts. They are people like you and me.

There are plenty of proven treatments that can help them lift themselves from the clutches of addiction.

Bottom line: Prisons make beaucoups dollars for the elite who are running this country into the ground, devastating families and creating career criminals who throw rocks through car windows trying to get their next fix.

Wake up and just say NO to prohibition.

— Naiya Cassidy
Asheville

SHARE

Thanks for reading through to the end…

We share your inclination to get the whole story. For the past 25 years, Xpress has been committed to in-depth, balanced reporting about the greater Asheville area. We want everyone to have access to our stories. That’s a big part of why we've never charged for the paper or put up a paywall.

We’re pretty sure that you know journalism faces big challenges these days. Advertising no longer pays the whole cost. Media outlets around the country are asking their readers to chip in. Xpress needs help, too. We hope you’ll consider signing up to be a member of Xpress. For as little as $5 a month — the cost of a craft beer or kombucha — you can help keep local journalism strong. It only takes a moment.

About Webmaster
Mountain Xpress Webmaster Follow me @MXWebTeam

Before you comment

The comments section is here to provide a platform for civil dialogue on the issues we face together as a local community. Xpress is committed to offering this platform for all voices, but when the tone of the discussion gets nasty or strays off topic, we believe many people choose not to participate. Xpress editors are determined to moderate comments to ensure a constructive interchange is maintained. All comments judged not to be in keeping with the spirit of civil discourse will be removed and repeat violators will be banned. See here for our terms of service. Thank you for being part of this effort to promote respectful discussion.

3 thoughts on ““Let’s get outraged,” indeed

  1. Annually

    Well, Naiya, I gotta hand it to you for writing an intelligible response to the letter I wrote last week. The only two responses I received were well, idiotic.

    That said, I’m not sure that I agree with you. I don’t know that legalizing crack or meth will accomplish what we would like: the cessation of drug abuse.

    True, British Columbia has had good success with limiting the impact of heroin addiction by legalizing care and treatment, by providing clean needles and by changing the rhetoric around addiction. It’s true most folks do not want to be addicts. But do we really want to say that drug addiction is ok? That we tolerate it? That we will provide you with the tools to do it?

    I don’t know that I can get behind that kind of course of action. And I don’t know that that will reach the desired end.

    Oh, and if I may, to the two yahoos who responded to my article last week.

    1. Crime in Asheville is irrespective of where you live.
    2. Because crime is here, does that mean we should just accept it? I’m all for being careful. I’m not all for living with it.

  2. Piffy!

    [b]I don’t know that legalizing crack or meth will accomplish what we would like: the cessation of drug abuse. [/b]

    Neither has making them illegal.

    Anyone who expects to stop drug abuse through legislation making it legal or illegal is awfully naive. To truly come close to that goal would require some serious improvements to the over-all health of our larger community. But that’s too much work for most of us.

    The letter-writer’s point is that many of the negative aspects of drug abuse are directly linked to it being criminalized.

    The war on drugs failed. You cant legislate morality.

    Make drugs ‘legal’, regulate them like alcohol and tobacco, and you will see an immediate lowering of the crimes associated with acquiring products of an underground, un-regulated economy.

    Making drugs illegal only provides income for criminals and organized crime. and forces our problems into the shadows.

Leave a Reply

To leave a reply you may Login with your Mountain Xpress account, connect socially or enter your name and e-mail. Your e-mail address will not be published. All fields are required.