INC NEWS - Give dealers the credit - today's Herald Sun

[Caleb Southern]

I agree with Ken.

 

I also agree with Deb that we need to do more with drug treatment. 

 

There is a very high correlation between property crimes and substance abuse
(looking at criminal and arrest records). Many addicts are stealing to get
their next fix. 

 

I hope that we can mandate supervised drug rehab for addicts who are
convicted of crimes such as larceny and B&E. Today in Durham, most of these
crimes result in probation (not prison) - with little or no rehab or
accountability for the effectiveness of rehab. So the same people commit the
same crimes to feed the same addictions - over and over again. We can and
must do better.

 

 

Caleb

 

 

  _____  

From: inc-list-bounces at rtpnet.org [mailto:inc-list-bounces at rtpnet.org] On
Behalf Of Ken Gasch
Sent: Wednesday, December 07, 2005 5:19 PM
To: Deb Christie; inc-list at durhaminc.org
Subject: Re: INC NEWS - Give dealers the credit - today's Herald Sun

 

I used to subscribe to parts of your theory in the past.  I can appreciate
the argument.  

 

However, 1912 was way before the advent of super addictive drugs like
crystal meth and crack cocaine.  These drugs destroy human beings, families
and communities.  

 

Mothers addicted to crack turn tricks in order to buy that next rock while
their children live in houses where the cock roaches and rats no longer run
away when the lights are turned on.  

 

Most battles worth fighting are not easy to win.

 

Data on the crack epidemic suggests that we are, in fact, winning the war on
drugs.

 

Ken Gasch

 

 

----- Original Message ----- 

From: Deb Christie <mailto:dchristie1 at nc.rr.com>  

To: Ken <mailto:ken.gasch at hldproductions.com>  Gasch ;
inc-list at durhaminc.org 

Sent: Wednesday, December 07, 2005 2:54 PM

Subject: Re: INC NEWS - Give dealers the credit - today's Herald Sun

 

Dear friends,

 

To me, ever-increasing sizes of illegal drug busts mean only that more and
more drugs are available - it is no victory.  Indeed, no victory is
possible.  We are fighting a losing war on drugs.

 

The only sensible solution is to treat all drugs under appropriate medical
regulations, and permit committed drug users to obtain their drugs under the
supervision of a physician.  Methadone clinics are one such program.  

 

It is no help to me to arrest drug users and dealers and put them in prison
- there are simply more to come.  I want to reduce the harm to the vast
majority of us who do not use drugs, and spend our precious taxes on drug
treatment, not incarceration.  I also want to reduce the harm to the drug
users themselves, by not making their addiction worse through incarceration
(where there are no shortage of illegal drugs).

 

Some of our grandparents were born before our illegal drug laws (inacted
around 1912), and our parents (and even many of us) were born before the
terrible escalation of the war on drugs.  We can return to those good old
days before drug use was demonized, and adopt a sensible drug regulation
policy.

 

Cheers and hope to all -

 

Deb Christie

 

----- Original Message ----- 

From: Ken <mailto:ken.gasch at hldproductions.com>  Gasch 

To: inc-list at durhaminc.org 

Sent: Tuesday, December 06, 2005 11:34 AM

Subject: INC NEWS - Give dealers the credit - today's Herald Sun

 

 


Give dealers the credit 





Lovemore Masakadza's Dec. 1 article, "Police step up raids and seize more
drugs" did a fine job of showing the contrast between Durham present and
Durham past. The quantities of confiscated drugs was a whopping five times
that of last year. Well, bravo! But now, instead of pointing fingers of
blame at each other, the police want to credit the community for this great
gain. While the community feels it's the police who are doing an outstanding
job. Masakadza did a fine job himself getting to the truth. It's the
strengthening of the police/community partnership that helped post these
impressive confiscation figures. Now both groups have been joined by
Realtors, property managers, PAC2 and INC, city employees, and plenty of
others. We're all standing and clapping, so why isn't anyone taking a bow?
Since none of the partners seem willing to accept the kudos they've earned,
I have an idea. Let's honor our drug dealers! Without them, none of these
great partnerships would exist. We'll throw a huge party with everyone
invited! Speeches will be made, and special invitations will be hand
delivered. We'll gift the honorees free room and board, expensive bracelets,
and even free clothing. So we all know who to applaud, we'll dress our
heroes in orange jumpsuits! What fun this will be. Now, where could we hold
such a large celebration? How about criminal and civil courts? The more the
merrier, so pass the word! Good job, everyone. 

BILL ANDERSON
DURHAM
December 6, 2005 

 

Appeared in today's editorial page of HS.

 


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