Using our brains, humanity has survived ice ages, the dark ages and the stone. We lived by our wits and our grit on our never-ending march towards enlightenment.
Its been a long damned rocky road, and as I look around, and flick the channels I see stupidity on a global scale.
Ants are better organized than our brightest politicians (oxymorons). Humans are making a bigger mess of our planet than a herd of elephants on ex-lax.
The virus hit the rich and poor alike well thats not reality-true the rich can afford to stay at home and door-dash. The poorest are the homeless, the mentally challenged and the drug addicted, and in most cases all three at the same time.
If we as a society dont acknowledge and care for these unfortunate human beings; the illness we now cower from, will remain like a hot ember in dry grass.
But out of the gloom came a bright idea from Dr. Bonnie Henry a glimpse of light at the end of the tunnel.
She said we should stop the spread of disease and death, by extinguishing the virus for all of our citizens. To do this, her idea not only had to be brilliant, it had to make economic sense as well.
The idea: free drugs.
Would you like to be a drug addict? Would you like to wake up with the sweats, shaking and your body aching until you push that needle into your vein sounds like fun, eh?
You can trust me when I say, shooting heroin feels like someone just poured a bucket of warm pleasure over you. Back in my rock and roll days; it was sex, drugs and rock and roll.
I was lucky enough to hit rock bottom and come up for air a lot of my drug buddies didnt get the choice death took them much too young.
But back to our hero Dr. Bonnie, and her ray of enlightenment.
I want you to think of the time some jerk ripped you off; did you get mad and feel violated? If the fuzz did anything more than fill out a report, youre lucky, and if they did recover your property you should buy a lottery ticket.
Stolen goods are a big racket, and like all successful businesses, repeat business is the key. When druggies need a fix, theyll do anything; theyd steal Jesus off the cross and go back for the nails.
Free drugs would solve that.
Clean shooting galleries with safe zones to zone-out, and eventually theyll change their minds even junkies dont want to be junkies.
The light at the end of the tunnel would be to eliminate diseases of all kinds, take the money away from crime and put it back into taxpayers pockets.
If the keystone cops cant stop the war on drugs maybe the money could be better spent fighting societies real villains: poverty, mental issues and drug addiction.
Lets recap: reduces disease, saves some mothers kid from death, prevents some jerk from stealing your stuff, empties courtrooms and jails, takes money from crime and makes common sense.
The war on drugs has cost hundreds of billions of dollars, countless lives and it should anger you that you have funded it for decades.
You know who doesnt like the doctors idea? Idiots, criminals, undertakers and little old ladies who think they live in the 1950s.
Bernie Bates resides in West Kelowna and is a regular contributor to Westside Weekly, a sister publication.
Email: beeinthebonnet@shaw.ca
Originally posted here:
Free drugs is the answer to problems | Opinion - pentictonherald.ca
- Chasing the Scream | The First and Last Days of the War on ... [Last Updated On: January 24th, 2017] [Originally Added On: January 24th, 2017]
- The president of the Philippines admits his war on drugs has been dirty - The Economist [Last Updated On: February 7th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 7th, 2017]
- PDEA: Army to play support role in war on drugs - ABS-CBN News [Last Updated On: February 7th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 7th, 2017]
- Ruto camps in Mombasa, says war on drugs intensified - Daily Nation [Last Updated On: February 7th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 7th, 2017]
- Words won't win war on drugs - The West Australian [Last Updated On: February 7th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 7th, 2017]
- Letter: The failed 'war on drugs' divides country - Rockford Register Star [Last Updated On: February 7th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 7th, 2017]
- Congressmen: Let's take a new look at the war on drugs - AZCentral.com [Last Updated On: February 7th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 7th, 2017]
- War on drugs not war vs poor: Cayetano - ABS-CBN News [Last Updated On: February 7th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 7th, 2017]
- President Duterte Threatens to Extend Drug War and Kill Korean ... - Newsweek [Last Updated On: February 7th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 7th, 2017]
- Magufuli adds weight to war on drugs - The Herald [Last Updated On: February 7th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 7th, 2017]
- Philippines: Duterte must end his "war on drugs" - Amnesty International [Last Updated On: February 8th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 8th, 2017]
- Seares: Branding the war on drugs | SunStar - Sun.Star [Last Updated On: February 8th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 8th, 2017]
- Opposition against President Duterte's war on drugs mounting: UN investigator - WION [Last Updated On: February 9th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 9th, 2017]
- WANG: War on Drugs requires smarter, more realistic approach - RU Daily Targum [Last Updated On: February 9th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 9th, 2017]
- Shahbal to introduce tough laws to curb drug abuse - Daily Nation [Last Updated On: February 9th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 9th, 2017]
- Trump Watch: Emboldened cops and border patrol agents, a more 'ruthless' war on drugs, and threats against the ... - Washington Post [Last Updated On: February 9th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 9th, 2017]
- Palma: Church leaders will continue to oppose bloody war on drugs ... - Inquirer.net [Last Updated On: February 9th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 9th, 2017]
- In Trump's 'ruthless' vow, experts see a return to the days of the drug war - Washington Post [Last Updated On: February 10th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 10th, 2017]
- DERMODY: War on Drugs requires more than 'quick-fix' - RU Daily Targum [Last Updated On: February 10th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 10th, 2017]
- Rights agency calls for sober talk in war on drugs - Daily Nation [Last Updated On: February 10th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 10th, 2017]
- Mexico Should Ask Trump to Pay For The Drug War - AlterNet [Last Updated On: February 11th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 11th, 2017]
- Trump on Drug War: 'We're Going to be Ruthless ... We Have No Choice' - CNSNews.com [Last Updated On: February 11th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 11th, 2017]
- Why war on drugs fires up our soft political underbelly - The Standard (press release) [Last Updated On: February 12th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 12th, 2017]
- President Duterte Changes and Defends Philippine Drug War - Voice of America [Last Updated On: February 12th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 12th, 2017]
- War on drugs has left us with a latticework of crime - The Boston Globe [Last Updated On: February 12th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 12th, 2017]
- Increasing opposition in Philippines to war on drugs: UN official - Reuters [Last Updated On: February 13th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 13th, 2017]
- Unnecessary fighting south of the border: Mexico should ask Trump to pay for the drug war - Salon [Last Updated On: February 13th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 13th, 2017]
- Trump Goes Full Nixon on Law-and-Order Executive Orders, Vows 'Ruthless' War on Drugs and Crime - AlterNet [Last Updated On: February 13th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 13th, 2017]
- Death of a businessman: How the Philippines drugs war was slowed - Reuters [Last Updated On: February 13th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 13th, 2017]
- President Trump Signs Executive Order Ramping Up The War On ... - TheFix.com [Last Updated On: February 13th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 13th, 2017]
- Sh170m heroin recovered in war on drugs at Coast - The Standard (press release) [Last Updated On: February 13th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 13th, 2017]
- Duterte militarises the war on drugs in the Philippines - World Socialist Web Site [Last Updated On: February 13th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 13th, 2017]
- After war on drugs, it's 'war vs illegal gambling' for PNP - Rappler [Last Updated On: February 14th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 14th, 2017]
- President Trump Just Renewed the War on Drugs - MERRY JANE - MERRY JANE [Last Updated On: February 14th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 14th, 2017]
- Duterte targets Philippine children in bid to widen drug war - Reuters [Last Updated On: February 15th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 15th, 2017]
- Is Ending The War On Drugs A Panacea? - Modern Times Magazine [Last Updated On: February 15th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 15th, 2017]
- Scott Pendleton: Civil forfeiture is an important tool in fighting the war on drugs - Tulsa World [Last Updated On: February 15th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 15th, 2017]
- Donald Trump Vows 'Ruthless' War on Drugs and Crime - The Daily Chronic [Last Updated On: February 15th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 15th, 2017]
- Simonson: The war on drugs - La Crosse Tribune [Last Updated On: February 15th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 15th, 2017]
- History of the War on Drugs - About.com News & Issues [Last Updated On: February 15th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 15th, 2017]
- Trump goes full Nixon on law-and-order, vows ruthless war on drugs and crime - Salon [Last Updated On: February 16th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 16th, 2017]
- Go whole hog in war on drug lords - The Standard (press release) [Last Updated On: February 16th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 16th, 2017]
- Duterte's 'war on drugs' in the Philippines - Deutsche Welle [Last Updated On: February 17th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 17th, 2017]
- A man of God in the Philippines is helping document a bloody war on drugs - Columbia Journalism Review [Last Updated On: February 18th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 18th, 2017]
- Reckoning with the Addict and the U.S. War on Drugs - OUPblog (blog) [Last Updated On: February 18th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 18th, 2017]
- Duterte calls for stronger AFP support in war on drugs, terror - Inquirer.net [Last Updated On: February 18th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 18th, 2017]
- In Manila, Catholics March Against War on Drugs Tactics - Voice of America [Last Updated On: February 18th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 18th, 2017]
- Losing the war on drugs - The Review [Last Updated On: February 20th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 20th, 2017]
- Why we can't seem to end the War on Drugs | TheHill - The Hill (blog) [Last Updated On: February 20th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 20th, 2017]
- Philippine's Rodrigo Duterte urged to drop charges against leading war on drugs critic - Telegraph.co.uk [Last Updated On: February 20th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 20th, 2017]
- HRW on war on drugs: PH needs 'international intervention' - Rappler [Last Updated On: February 20th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 20th, 2017]
- Napolcom: Police need to regroup, rethink role in war on drugs - Inquirer.net [Last Updated On: February 20th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 20th, 2017]
- Study: Mexican Military Should Not Have Intervened In Country's ... - Fronteras: The Changing America Desk [Last Updated On: February 21st, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 21st, 2017]
- The 'War On Drugs' Has Been A Deadly Failure - Huffington Post Australia [Last Updated On: February 21st, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 21st, 2017]
- Senator fighting Philippine president's war on drugs charged without 'iota of evidence,' lawyer says - CBC.ca [Last Updated On: February 21st, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 21st, 2017]
- Thousands of Filipino Catholics march against death penalty, war on drugs - Reuters [Last Updated On: February 22nd, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 22nd, 2017]
- Our Aggressive "War on Drugs" Is Not Actually About Drugs - AlterNet [Last Updated On: February 22nd, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 22nd, 2017]
- War on drugs: a failing battle against suffering - The Suffolk Journal [Last Updated On: February 23rd, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 23rd, 2017]
- Shots fired in war on drugs - Commonwealth Journal's History [Last Updated On: February 23rd, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 23rd, 2017]
- Ureport: WAR ON DRUGS NOT ABOUT PERSONAL FIGHTS - The ... - The Standard (press release) [Last Updated On: February 23rd, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 23rd, 2017]
- Philippines to defend Duterte's drug war at UN rights body - Reuters [Last Updated On: February 24th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 24th, 2017]
- Hidden victims of war on drugs - The Phnom Penh Post [Last Updated On: February 24th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 24th, 2017]
- Palace: Arrest order vs De Lima a 'fulfillment' of war on drugs - Inquirer.net [Last Updated On: February 24th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 24th, 2017]
- Trump administration signals new war on drugs, crackdown on marijuana use - ThinkProgress [Last Updated On: February 24th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 24th, 2017]
- Opponent of Duterte's drugs war arrested in Philippines on drug charges - Reuters [Last Updated On: February 24th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 24th, 2017]
- Philippine citizens protest Duterte's drug war on anniversary of dictatorship overthrow - Deutsche Welle [Last Updated On: February 25th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 25th, 2017]
- How Rodrigo Duterte's War On Drugs Looks In Colombia - Worldcrunch [Last Updated On: February 25th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 25th, 2017]
- Dela Rosa hopes PNP can focus on drug war anew - Banat [Last Updated On: February 27th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 27th, 2017]
- Philippine police say ready to return to war on drugs as dealers return - Reuters [Last Updated On: February 27th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 27th, 2017]
- Our View: White House plan reignites wasteful war on drugs - Kennebec Journal & Morning Sentinel [Last Updated On: February 27th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 27th, 2017]
- Engaging With The War On Drugs In Ubisoft's Wildlands Documentary - TheSixthAxis [Last Updated On: February 28th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 28th, 2017]
- There's one last big-ticket item on Trump's agenda: A war on drugs - Raw Story [Last Updated On: February 28th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 28th, 2017]
- No need to relaunch war on drugs: Duterte aide - ABS-CBN News [Last Updated On: February 28th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 28th, 2017]
- The Junkie and the Addict: The Moral War on Drugs - Harvard ... - Harvard Political Review [Last Updated On: February 28th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 28th, 2017]
- Duterte orders return of police to war on drugs - ABS-CBN News [Last Updated On: February 28th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 28th, 2017]
- Yasay: Flak on war on drugs, De Lima arrest just 'partisan politics' - ABS-CBN News [Last Updated On: February 28th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 28th, 2017]
- Duterte brings back police into war on drugs - Banat [Last Updated On: February 28th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 28th, 2017]
- Philippine president to bring police back into war on drugs - Reuters [Last Updated On: February 28th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 28th, 2017]
- Bands I Pretended to Like for Boys. Part Ten: The War on Drugs ... - TheStranger.com [Last Updated On: March 1st, 2017] [Originally Added On: March 1st, 2017]
- Donald Trump Drug War Strategy | National Review - National Review [Last Updated On: March 1st, 2017] [Originally Added On: March 1st, 2017]