Drug abuse continues to be a scourge on society.
Deciding how to deal with one of the toughest and deadliest drugs to be abused, methamphetamine, can be a conundrum. As is often the case when trying to deal with such problems, the tighter the grip, the more likely it is that new issues will pop out at unexpected places. No one, however, would suggest a more lax enforcement approach to such a seductive and destructive drug would be anything but a disaster to users and society.
Fortunately, there doesn’t have to be an either/or answer to this debilitating social issue. In this state, there are multiple efforts aiming at the problem from different angles.
On Feb. 2 in Lynnwood, the Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office hosted the 2006 Meth Summit, inviting students from all over the Puget Sound area to learn more about the realities of methamphetamine.
It is a pro-active approach to educating young people, coming from those who make the arrests and are confronted with the grimy and heartbreaking reality of drug abuse.
In Olympia, lawmakers are also addressing the problem. In 2005, Rep. Ruth Kagi, D-Lake Forest Park, worked to pass her bill making treatment of drug addictions a sentencing option for some non-violent offenders. This year, bills are working their way through the system that would track meth “cooks” in much the same way as sex offenders.
Methamphetamine eats away at users and society. Thankfully, all concerned recognize that a balanced and multi-faceted approach is the best approach to fixing the problem.
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