Drug Problem Continues

This article really caught my eye. It was all about the increase in drug overdoses in the United States over the past thirty years. Drug overdoses have increased six times as much during this time period. I found it very interesting that drug overdoses are now the leading cause of accidental death in our country. The scary thing is that this problem might just get worse. Extremists on both sides have taken over the drug prevention debate. The problem is that Republicans avoid the subject because it might appear to eventually cost taxpayers more money. And Democrats haven't realized that drugs are a major issue and need to be dealt with. The author of the article, Kevin A. Sabet, describes the drug problem as a stalemate. The author argues that we know so much more now about addiction than we used to, and new technology is at our reach. Legislature is trying to make an effort and make a difference. R. Gil Kerlikowske, Obama's main drug policy advisor, recently introduced a plan to stop drug addiction. This plan included shutting down illegitimate clinics, educating adults and children, and establishing monitoring at pharmacies. Unfortunately, his plan received little attention from Capitol Hill. 


It says at the end of this op-ed that the author, Kevin A. Sabet, is a drug-policy consultant and was a senior adviser in the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy. So, if you ask me, he probably knows what he's talking about. Sabet makes it pretty obvious that he thinks things need to be changed. Sabet also believes that the moderates need to take over and do something about the problem because the extremists aren't going to solve anything. He explains this when he says, "To remain silent not only betrays widely shared values of compassion and justice for the most vulnerable. It also leaves policy in the hands of extremists who would relegate a very serious and consequential discussion to frivolous and dangerous quarters.." Sabet is very persuasive in his writing. He points out that drug prevention solutions in the past have produced impressive results and new solutions can only be better. 


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