A Dangerous Epidemic

Recently on public radio, a local official was interviewed on the problems methamphetamine is creating in our community. Some of the statistics and facts she offered were shocking and horrifying to me. She considered the drug much more dangerous than cocaine, highly addictive and extremely destructive.

A sad and horrifying outcome of this epidemic is the production of orphans, children of the addicted who must be placed in foster care because the parents are too messed up to care for their own children. The more you read about it, the more tales you'll hear of heart-wrenching neglect.

Many libertarians argue for the legalization of virtually every drug. This is an example of why I think that's a really bad idea. If the problem is this bad when the stuff is illegal, how bad will it be with it legal? A history of China's drug problems during the opium wars should be a sufficient example to demonstrate that.

There's a serious problem here that needs as much public awareness around it as as possible. Things need to get better before they get worse. There's a new article on the subject in today's NYT: A Drug Scourge Creates Its Own Form of Orphan.