Dear Editor:

I am writing concerning the drug problem that we have here in the coalfields. Drugs wreck people’s lives. The people who use them often get pushed into committing crime to fund their habit. And, that not only ruins their future, but it ruins the lives of the residents and communities who become their victims. Drug craving and the other compulsive behaviors are the essence of addiction. They are extremely difficult to control, much more difficult than any physical dependence. They are the principal target symptoms for most drug treatment programs. For an addict, there is no motivation more powerful than drug craving. As the movie “Trainspot-ting” showed us so well, the addicts entire life becomes centered on getting and using the drug. Virtually nothing seems to outweigh drug craving as a motivator. People have committed all kinds of crimes and even abandoned their children just to get drugs.

People think that going to prison makes offenders less likely to offend again, but I think better alternatives include paying back to the community for the damage caused by their compulsions, and meeting their victims so victims get the opportunity to tell the offender what impact their behavior had on them and their family. Or, give them probation and require them to address their problems such as drug addiction, mental health problems, lack of education, homelessness which may have led to them to commit crimes. It would be a much smarter decision than to just keep throwing them in jail, letting the taxpayers keep them up. For most people, spending time behind bars doesn’t help them, just gives the a free place to stay. They need to get help for their problems and pay back to our society. To make sure we break the cycle of crime and drug taking, we need to make  very clear a critical component of any long-term strategy to reduce drug trafficking and crime on our streets is to deal with the problem of the young drug users.

Mary Maynard

Belfry, Ky.