a larger net

  Listening to Kamala Harris, and others, talking about drug abuse. Kamala was talking about the fentanyl crisis. She was explaining how the use of that drug is a mental issue, it's an addiction and we should, as a nation devote billions of dollars to provide services for those using that stuff. No mention of trying to stop the flow of those drugs into the country, no mention of holding anyone accountable, just we should be "curing" those who choose to use that stuff. It's not their fault. And she followed that explanation with a list of reasons people choose that stuff. She lists all the usual things, lack of opportunity, discrimination, and the system. All of those things leave the user no choice! We need to provide all of that, without question, without accountability, and do so with a giving heart. Addiction is a disease. 

 Well, I take issue with that blanket statement. I don't think addiction is a disease at all. If it is, it is self-inflicted. Yes, I know that some are prescribed drugs that are addictive. I also know they are told about that, at great length, before they are prescribed them as well. No one can say they weren't warned. If they choose to abuse those drugs that is their choice, not the fault of the physician. For me it is no different than a lot of things. How many things do you have to sign a disclaimer on? You have to agree to the terms of use on social media sites because you could get your feelings hurt! So no, that is your choice. If you are prescribed something that becomes a problem, you should have told your doctor at the very first sign of that. And I'm not buying that you had no idea. No, I'm not buying that at all. But I'm talking about those that choose to use illegal drugs and get themselves addicted to that. It is self-inflicted and not up to me to bail you out of that. 

 I haven't heard of any plan to prevent people from starting to use that stuff, only plans to rehabilitate them. Well, I was always told an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. What sort of prevention is this, we will provide you with free Narcan when you overdose. We will give you free clean needles and provide you with a trained person to administer that drug. We will legalize marijuana because that isn't any worse than alcohol and we already have the alcoholics under control. Heck only about 30% of all traffic fatalities involve alcohol use, no problem. We tried prohibition and that only increased the crime so we know we shouldn't try to stop the drugs from coming in, they will anyway, so the plan is to stop people after they begin. Curiosity killed the cat but that doesn't mean we can't save that cat! Yeah, some will die, but it balances out alright with the ones that don't. Once we rehabilitate those that were addicted, we can use them as role models, as counselors, as examples of success. They can go on talk shows and explain how it wasn't their fault at all, but they persevered, sacrificed, and became empowered to change! They are heroes really. They survived.

 Here is what the experts say an addiction is: "An addiction is a chronic dysfunction of the brain system that involves reward, motivation, and memory. It’s about the way your body craves a substance or behavior, especially if it causes a compulsive or obsessive pursuit of “reward” and lack of concern over consequences." Well that just about covers everything doesn't it? Using that definition all I need is a good attorney and whatever wrong I have committed is because of an addiction. Not my fault. Strangely there are only a few addictions that require government intervention. Gamble all your money away and what do you get? Broke is the answer and some free counseling explaining that gambling means taking a risk. You don't get your money back! Heck you won't even get banned from the casino. But many experts will argue that is just a compulsive disorder. It's a mental issue. Yeah, a chronic dysfunction of the brain. Not a disease, a disorder. It's about choices. And so is addiction! If you choose to use those substances, you are taking your chances. That's the way I feel about that. I can feel sorry for you, even offer to help, but you are the one to blame for that. I think instead of focusing on treatment, we should focus on prevention. You begin by providing severe penalties for the possession of any illegal drugs. Doesn't make any difference if it is one pill or a thousand! Same penalty. Caught selling those products, you go to jail immediately. No excuses are acceptable. Prevention doesn't occur after the fact! That's not preventing anything at all. Addiction involves reward according to the experts. When that reward is given for the addiction itself. it promotes addiction. It is a matter of risk and reward. You have to make the risk greater than the reward! You can't do that by providing a safety net. And that is all that is being proposed, a larger safety net.