Substance abuse treatment could decrease crime rate
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Editor,
As I read the paper or watch the news I continue to see the main cause or our rising crime rate. It’s no mystery at all. There are lots of very unhappy people out there who are looking for some form of happiness. Unfortunately they are looking for an easy fix through getting high or drunk.
During my career as a drug and alcohol counselor, I saw hundreds of people who got caught up in the addiction trap. None of them set out to become felons but only wanted to have fun and escape reality. If we took mood-altering substances out of the picture our prisons would lose about 85 percent or more of their population. Most of the homicides are drug-related, so tell the anti-gun advocates to look at the real problem and stop trying to take away my rights to own my guns.
One of the major problems is that in order to gain access to treatment for addiction a person must be involved with the legal system in some manner. Felons are the only people who have access to long-term treatment. By the time it takes over a person’s life there is no money for help. Good parents lose custody of their children and end up locked up for years for a disease they did not get on purpose. I am pushing for an intervention program that can prevent some of those who get arrested for drug and alcohol charges from becoming felons, and I hope it will get adopted by our local government.
It’s about accountability — which anyone can tell you is the ultimate answer. If we the people are going to get our lives back we need to start holding ourselves accountable and help others do the same. Who knows, maybe the voting polls will see more people.
Chuck Ripley
St. Ignatius
