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I am a recovering crack addict that used to live in Port Lavaca. I now Reside in Orlando, FL and I can say that despite the fact that drugs are pervasive no matter where you go, as I have found in various cities across the state of Texas as well others in the nation, the crossroads area definitely has a big problem. There is such rampant drug use, especially crack cocaine, in the crossroads area, and I am not sure what the answer is to correct the problem. To correct the issue of drug abuse, in not only the crossroads area, but throughout the nation is certainly not a simple task.

No amount of law enforcement or penalties will ever curb this deadly black enterprise. As it stands now our jails and prisons are overcrowded with millions of drug users and dealers, and I do not think the answer is to stiffen the penalties for drug possession. I also do not believe that ignoring the problem will make it go away. If we TRULY want to curb drug abuse in the nation we are looking at an EXTREMELY expensive and timey process that will never fully eradicate drug use.

The solution long term is to deal with the issue of dependency on the part of the user and rehabilitate the user and hope that he/she is able to fully regain productivity in our communities nationwide. The problem lies herein though. Drug addiction is not a simple disease to correct. It is EXTREMELY difficult to remedy, not to mention lengthy and expensive.

The statistics of drug addicts able to recover and make a lifelong change are few and far between. I have been sober from crack cocaine for a year and a half and I owe each and every day of that time to God and my loved ones who never gave up on me despite having given up on myself. Despite being in the midst of recovery I will still run the risk of relapsing at ANY point in my life, and that is the most unpredictable aspect of drug addiction to remedy. Drug addicts are sick people and need help; not punishment.

Please do not mistake what I am saying. I am certainly not advocating that drug use and possession carry no penalty as I do firmly believe that punitive action does play a role in our society. I just do not think that drugs fall into the same cookie cutter type of system that we have in place in our country. I have been fortunate enough to enjoy living a drug free lifestyle and become a productive member of society again, but most drug addicts are not as fortunate.

By the time a drug addict is completely inundated in the drug subculture there are so many "bridges" that have been burned that it is almost impossible to make a recovery. I think that even if the crossroads area and the country were able to shift their approach to the illicit drug trade in our communities, as long a demand exists the drug trade will never fully disappear, and it would appear that the demand for drugs in our society will always be present.

There are so many varying aspects of the drug lifestyle that are so difficult to address in a proper manner and so we choose to just put these people in jail so that we do not have to deal with them. I can say that I have been part of this lifestyle and lived it the extreme and this problem is far beyond anything our current system is equipped to handle. We will NEVER be able to eliminate poverty and desperation as these are just part of humanity. If you can’t get a job then you sell dope. Plain and simple. There is no background check, reference check, job history required, or drug test to pass to sell drugs. I know that many people will say that nobody has to sell drugs.

I agree. Nobody HAS to sell drugs in the sense that someone has a gun to these drug dealers head instructing them to sell drugs. I would say that not being able to feed your family or yourself sure is a huge burden that will make you do things you normally wouldn’t do in the name of making ends meet. Why can’t these drug addicts get "real" jobs? Have you noticed the economy that we are living in? Do you know how difficult it is to get a job? The company I work for just completed some hiring and received in excess of 1000 resumes in just 3 short days. We hired 4 people. Those are some pretty pathetic odds. Wouldn’t you agree?

Again please do not mistake what I am about to say as I certainly do not mean to be stereotypical, but I think if we all looked at my next statement with complete objectivity we could agree. Most drug dealers come from broken homes, full of violence, alcohol abuse, drug abuse, and an overall lifestyle of poverty. This poverty stricken lifestyle is a very vicious cycle that is potentially more impossible to break than the addiction to drugs as so many additional cultural, political, and socioeconomic factors are present. The sad reality is we will never be able to completely change this lifestyle and we can only hope for the best.

I advocate that the most efficient way to make progress against the enemy of drugs is to recognize that we have a problem in our country, but not just look at the problem on such a huge scale but begin to make it much more personal and identify the issues that exist in each and everyone of the homes that we all live in. Declaring war on drugs is not the answer. The current drug policies have been completely ineffective and have not curbed the proliferation of this evil and a radical paradigm shift is necessary to combat this new enemy.

Drug addiction and trafficking is without a doubt a lifestyle that can be addressed, but it must be done at home. I do not mean simply "talking with your teens' as our national council for a drug free America would suggest, as a much more active approach is needed. I do think that talking with your teens is a great idea, make no mistake, but I think that often times the actions of the parents talking with their teens speak much louder than the words that they are saying. It is very undermining to advise your child to not drink, smoke, or do drugs if it is taking place in the house.

Without a doubt our national council for drug prevention has it correct when it says to speak to our teens, as this is the time to address this issue and set a firm foundation for prevention. It is much easier to prevent something from happening than to deal with it once it has happened especially when it comes to drugs. Do not just tell your teens "don’t do drugs". Give them a reason and not "because I said so" or "because they are bad'. Those statements are all fine and well, but it just doesn’t satiate the inquisitive mind of a teenager. We have to be more real with our children. We have to stop trying to "protect them" as this does no good. Instead we need to educate our children about the truths that exist in our country and help them to be as prepared as possible to handle the life that waits once they enter adulthood. This is where the chain of survival is broken.

The world that we all live in has become such a survival of the fittest and a complete mad scramble to survive it would appear that there is not time for these valuable lessons to be taught at home. Instead we are all so busy trying to make it in this crazy world that we have no time for our kids, no time to talk, much less be an active participant in our children’s lives. When the parental unit(s) in a home are ineffective and neglect their responsibilities to their children, these impressionable young beings seek that affirmation from outside sources. These outside sources often manifest in the form of drugs, alcohol, and violence.

There is no doubt that America faces an enormous crisis that needs to be addressed, but the degree of difficulty between the ideology and implementation of these ideas is extreme. The only thing that we can all hope for is that our society begins to reassess the problem we have on our hands along with beginning to discuss new ideas and pray t hat we can come up with a more effective way to deal with what is now a national crisis.

Go after the user just as hard as you go after the dealer.  This will never happen, but it's a thought.

Well, for the first time in my life I'm actually considering applying for a permit to carry.
Ernie

If we really want to get rid of the drug problem, we would need to adapt the laws of Singapore related to illegal drugs.  The user and the dealer are executed.  However, I think it is a little drastic punishment for marijuana. So in the case of marijuana we may need to really look at adopting laws similar to alcohol use regulate the sale/production and tax it.  I question the logic of prohibiting the agriculture growth of hemp in the USA, there are so many great industrial uses of hemp other than as a drug. Don't get me wrong, I do not support the use of marijuana for recreational use; research has shown it destroys the motivation cells of the brain and its tar is more harmful than tobacco.