Pubdate: Thu, 14 Apr 2005
Source: Oklahoman, The (OK)
Copyright: 2005 The Oklahoma Publishing Co.
Contact:  http://www.oklahoman.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/318
Author: Jim Russell
Note: Russell is executive director of Spirit of Recovery, a private 
nonprofit that deals with substance abuse issues.

NEW APPROACH NEEDED

Bill Bird (Your Views, April 5) wrote that if there are "better and cheaper 
ways to deal with the drug problem ... if they really exist, bring them 
forward." I suggest he consider treatment and recovery. Recovery from 
alcohol and drug addiction is doing something about the cause of the 
problem. Imprisonment is putting a Band-Aid on a symptom of the problem. 
Bird also states that "while lacking any empirical evidence, I have to 
believe that most of those felons would advise their brothers and friends 
that the risk of 20 years in the slammer for a few drug deals isn't worth 
the risk." That concept may make sense to Bird, but it doesn't make sense 
to those of us addicted to alcohol and drugs. Many of our brothers and 
friends did tell us many things, but we keep on doing the same thing and 
getting into the same trouble. That is the disease part of addictions.

Empirical evidence has proven that people can and do recover from alcohol 
and drug addiction. Unfortunately, the guiding principle for Oklahoma has 
been directed at symptoms of the problem. That will continue until 
taxpayers realize that the economical/humane solution is to do something 
about the cause.

Jim Russell

Norman
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