Four-step solution to drug crisis
LETTERS
Lethbridge does not have just have an opioid crisis but an addiction crisis. The path the city of Lethbridge is now on will lead to disaster. There will be increased drug addicts flocking to the city which brings more drug dealers, which brings more turf wars with guns and violence.
I was talking with Sgt. Robin Klassen of the LPS at the meeting held at the Lethbridge College and she informed me that it was still a crime to possess and use drugs outside of the SCS. Therefore, I suggest that every time the police see a person doing or in possession of an illegal substance, they are arrested and given a one on one. The person arrested could be told that they are being offered an opportunity to turn their life around.
Step 1. The addict is given a choice of 90 days in rehab or 30 days in jail. The addict would also be offered support to learn new job skills, be offered subsidized housing and support to find employment. After the person is released from rehab, they would still be monitored for drug abuse for a period of time. If they require the use of methadone to stay sober, that is fine with me.
Step 2. If the addict chooses rehab, they are immediately taken to a safe place for detox and asap to a rehabilitation centre for treatment. If the addict chooses jail time, they would be placed in jail to serve their sentence.
Step 3. At the end of 30 days, the person that was incarcerated, would be given another choice. They could choose rehab again as a second chance or they would be banned from being inside Lethbridge city limits.
Step 4. All property inside of Lethbridge city limits would be considered a red zone. People that refuse treatment and step inside that boundary after being removed from the city would be arrested and either jailed or moved outside Lethbridge city limits immediately.
If the problem is removed from our city by either rehabilitating those with substance abuse issues or being removed from our city, the drug dealers will move on. I always say when it comes to the drug trade: “If you have no customers, you have no business.”
The solution I am suggesting may lead to some flak from the “Bleeding Heart Society” but so be it.
Doug Cameron
Lethbridge