
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: TUESDAY, April 26, 1994                   TAG: 9404270009
SECTION: EDITORIAL                    PAGE: A4   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: JAMES T. SHIRLEY III
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

A CIVILIZED SOLUTION TO DRUG ABUSE

I KNOW how to end America's tragic problem with drugs and violence, but sadly my view is not represented by anyone in public office at this time. Our entire national perspective on this issue is divided into two camps so far apart that there's no room for dialogue. Both are wrong.

Anyone who's studied the issue of government-controlled substances understands the relationship between prohibition and the rise of illicit industry, with its incumbent self-policing that leads to the war-zone mentality and social decay we're presently experiencing. But opponents of prohibition, who argue in favor of legalization of hard drugs that can kill instantly, are completely unrealistic.

The answer to this crisis is to declare not a war on drugs, but a war on drug profits. Liberal outpatient-treatment programs using safe, doctor-prescribed, doses of cocaine and heroin must be made available to those addicted to these drugs. Those addicts who have jobs would be required to pay for all or part of their treatment (only a fraction of what they're currently paying on the street.) Overnight, these people would become healthier, more-productive citizens with a far greater chance of overcoming their addiction with doctor supervision. The spread of AIDS would be severely curtailed; drug-related crime would disappear; inner-city neighborhoods would be made safe again for law-abiding citizens. Business investment would return to drug-infested areas, and new-found jobs would be the greatest deterrent of all to the slow suicide of drug abuse.

Under this program, none of these drugs would be made legal, and offenders would be under probation for a period of time to ensure their compliance with treatment. People using softer, nonaddictive drugs (marijuana, LSD) would be required to attend Alcoholics Anonymous-type meetings. Those still involved in the illegal sale of drugs would be fined and required to do community-service work, freeing up desperately needed prison space for truly violent offenders.

Considering the dire straits that we're in now with drug abuse, the spread of AIDS and violence, this solution sounds almost too good to be true. But that's just a measure of the depth of the mistake we've made in dealing with this issue. We make a terrible mistake when we pass laws creating a climate that breeds an illicit industry. We must see to it that laws don't create this climate, rather than create the climate and then attempt to destroy the natural fruit it bears.

Law enforcement has a role to play in dealing with the problem of drug abuse, but the problem itself is a medical one and should be left primarily to the medical establishment. It's been said that there's no silver-bullet solution to our crime problem. Thank goodness for America there is!

Please listen to me: We're not a nation gone mad, we're not naturally violent, we don't have to give up all that we've worked for with equal rights and race relations. We're becoming uncivilized, and it's not necessary.

James T. Shirley III of Blacksburg is a former actor/musician who is now a househusband.

by CNB