Addicted nation - the price tag to our society and a way out for those suffering

America an addicted nation

America launched a war on illegal drugs in 1979, spending an estimated 1 trillion on law enforcement efforts since then…..How’s that working out so far?  See CNN's War on drugs, a trillion dollar failure

Mexican drug cartels are profiting hugely from our war and have now grown so powerful they are moving into the United States.

Americas insatiable desire to get high, has kept our prisons full.  Many of those incarcerated, abused drugs or alcohol; which may have accounted for the criminal behavior that landed them in prison…Perhaps they were involved in the sale and marketing of drugs, or were themselves the end users.

The cost of addiction to our society can’t even be measured in dollars alone. What bad decisions do addictions cause when judgment is impaired? How many families are shattered? Careers and reputations ruined? Accidental deaths and overdose?

In a world view, President Clinton commented on an incident in his book.  He said he was briefed by the Secret Service after they found Russian President Boris Yeltsin standing outside the White House guest quarters, totally inebriated.   Dressed only in his underwear, he was trying to hail a taxi in order to get a pizza…this was a world leader with his finger on the button of nuclear weapons. Yeltsin was well known for his chronic drinking problems.

Libertarians like Fox News correspondent John Stossel, have been calling to legalize current “illegal drugs,” saying it’s no business of the government to tell adults what they can, or cannot ingest. See his opinion here

Many experts in the field of addiction say it’s time to take the focus away from criminalization and the stigma that goes with it and focus instead on education/treatment. 

There are many great organizations ready to help those suffering from addictions.

Alcoholics Anonymous has successfully helped millions of alcoholics to become productive members of society. Many other organizations adopted AA's basic premise of 12 step groups and have successfully helped millions of others in their struggle with addictions to drugs, gambling and other harmful behaviors.  AA and organizations such as Narcotics Anonymous,  are available to help those suffering and are free of charge. See addiction recovery groups

Addiction treatment facilities have developed their own unique and successful ways of helping people break their addictions.  Some are free or relatively inexpensive such as what the faith based Salavation Army offers. There are also many state supported facilities which offer drug and alcohol treatment for a nominal fee or free of charge. See recovery resources

There are private rehabilitation facilities offering state of the art treatment using their unique brand of intensive psychotherapy and holistic treatments, such as those developed by Richard Taite at Cliffside Malibu. Richard outlined his roadmap for an addiction free life in his book: Ending Addiction for Good

Louise McCallion's facility in Northern California,  Reflections, has devoted itself to providing treatment for not only the addictions to drugs/alcohol...But also has expertise in dual-diagnosis and co-occurring disorders, all under the care of her well qualified and professional staff.

But private treatment facilities can be expensive; from several thousand dollars for a 30 day stay, to tens of thousands and more for high end facilities.  

Other unique forms of help are available such as what Declinol offers in natural cures for alcohol cravings.  It is an eight-week at home alcohol program that is completely anonymous. There are no group meetings and clients can go about their regular daily routine. Declinol claims its unique blend of herbs assists the body by restoring the balance and helps to reduce alcohol cravings. While on their program, they offer phone support to answer questions and an online forum where you can communicate with current and past clients of the program. 

Declinol isn’t a long term treatment program and doesn’t purport to be, but like many of the other programs, it can be a tool to take that first step towards a long term sober lifestyle…. for a fraction of the price that rehab facilities charge.

Millions of people suffer from their addictions, they should know there is a helping hand ready to lift them up.  All they have to do is ask for help

Obama abandons Arizona, the border will be like no country for old men

Along the Arizona/Mexican border, dozens of heavily armed spotters man look out points on mountain peaks commanding the shimmering, parched landscape below. They usually man these posts for two weeks at a time, taking provisions with them to last the entire 14 days. They are equipped with night vision technology, powerful binoculars and high tech communications able to keep them  in touch with command centers miles away.

But these aren't US military personnel or  law enforcement, they are soldiers of powerful Mexican drug cartels, who own these crossing points where vast amounts of drugs and human traffickers stream  into the United States.   These spotters are on the look out for the US border patrol who is tasked with keeping these invaders out.  Hamstrung by the vast areas of desolate country they have to patrol, as well as having to respect environmentally sensitive areas which the cartels could care less about, our forces are out manned and outgunned.  

Like the Cohen Brothers movie, "No country for old men," the undercurrent of this landscape is harsh, lawless and violent.  It is ruled by brutal men, who do not hesitate to resort to violence in order to protect their investment in drugs and human trafficking. Headless bodies and rape trees tell the tale of how brutal this place can be.

Mule trains of human and drug traffickers on foot, some carrying burlap sacks filled with drugs, walk into the United States under the watchful eyes of the spotters high above them.    Once they reach a staging area, they change clothes so they look more American and discard what they had been wearing.  They also discard the burlap bags as they transfer the drugs to vehicles. These smuggling corridors are littered with abandoned vehicles,plastic bottles, cans, clothing, shoes, food, black plastic bags, and empty burlap sacks.   

You would think, that at the very least,  the EPA would be enthusiastically suing the cartels for despoiling the desert environment...as enthusiastically as they sue and harass our own US corporations and industries.

We are having a war waged against us on our southern border.  This war is filling our country with dangerous illegal drugs and swamping us with undocumented illegal immigrants who are overloading our social services.

A border state trampled and drowned by illegal and criminal invaders, Arizona was dealt a severe blow a few months ago by the Obama administration.  They were told not to call Dept of Homeland Security for help with their immigration enforcement problem because Homeland security wasn't going to answer.

Evidently President Obama was in a snit when the Supreme Court unanimously upheld a controversial provision requiring police to check the immigration status of people they detain and suspect to be in the country illegally.  So President Obama decided to circumvent the intent of the ruling by another executive order and withdrew federal  immigration enforcement help and cooperation from Arizona.

Even Justice Scalia wrote a scathing indictment against the Obama administrations intimidation of Arizona's efforts to protects its borders when he penned: " Arizona contradicts federal law by enforcing applications of the Immigration Act that the President declines to enforce boggles the mind.”

President Obama's decision to suspend laws on immigration and harass the State of Arizona for trying to protect its citizens from a criminal invasion,  is indeed mind boggling.

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