As a “law and order” candidate, my position on illegal drugs is summed up in the word “Illegal.”  However, that doesn’t mean we should not deal with the issue with compassion.  Beyond the fact that, by definition, illegal drugs are illegal, we know that drug abuse has both social and economic consequences.  Drug abuse on the job–and off the job–can be lethal, not only to the individual using the drugs, but to others as well.

There are many reasons why people abuse drugs–everything from addiction due to medication and self-medication, to escape stress, to peer pressure and influence, and more. 

The issue I have with drug abuse is how destructive it is to individuals and families directly and indirectly.  Further, the problem with drug abuse is that it frequently is complicated with other socioeconomic issues, such as increases in crime and health care costs; not to mention it is a major source of income for many crime cartels.

If you haven’t heard the 2015 Gov. Chris Christie interview about addiction, take the five minutes to do so now: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9WziMYBeEuI .

The illegal drug issue needs to be addressed from several angles. Three of the aspects of this issue that I would like to address are:

• Regular education of our youth about drug abuse as early as possible
• Destigmatizing drug addiction so that people who need help get the help they need
• Prevention of the overuse/prescription of opiates

The battle against drug abuse could be won if:

1. our education of young people was so effective that they never abused drugs
2. as a society, we compassionately helped those who have become addicted to drug abuse
3. the healthcare industry and our healthcare providers were sufficiently empowered to safely prescribe only the amount of medication required to best help their patients.