It’s a popular thought, especially since it’s true.
Every time a drug dealer is arrested and taken off the streets, a new drug dealer replaces them. Quickly. Maybe even the same day.
Ask any member of law enforcement, and they’ll tell you it’s true.
That’s because this valley is known for its thirst for illegal narcotics, and since the beginning of the opioid epidemic, record numbers of overdose deaths have claimed people of all ages, genders, races, and religions. They’ve been rich, poor, college grads, and high school dropouts, but hot shots, bad batches, toxic amounts, and dishonest dealing have killed our friends and family.
… there are good people hoping every day to help more folks who have chosen to change course …
Let’s be honest – tragedy has touched us all, and we’ve visited the funeral homes, talked about how young and full of life the victim was, and we always wish we would have reached out and insisted on intervention. But the suppliers in cities like Columbus, Pittsburgh, and Cleveland? They don’t care about our loss and sorrow. Not even a little.
Some can be critical after learning of the next big arrest because of the street-corner inevitability in our valley. Let’s face it – even with the southern border more secure than it’s been for some time, the government’s war on drugs has been sadly unsuccessful for decades.
But.
But anytime an officer, a deputy, and drug task force takes down a dealer, that criminal’s “customers” have a chance to make a different decision.
There is help here. Not as much as we’d like, of course, but there are good people hoping every day to help more folks who have chosen to change course, and we need to support those organizations more than we are now IF we want to grip to loosen.
Addiction is ugly, and that’s why every arrest is a victory for the “good guys” because, instead of finding a new connection, maybe – just maybe – this time they choose to heal.
