Public Health
By: Patrick Henry
Tags: Covid 19, Drugs, Rehabilitation, Homeless, Addiction

We lost the war on drugs.

As of this writing, 181 unfortunate souls have lost their lives to the COVID virus in the City & County of San Francisco in 2020. In 2020, 641 self destructive souls have succumbed to a drug overdose. That total would be a great deal higher had not first responders administered Narcon (Naloxone) about 3,000 times. The comparisons aren’t apples to apples, since the first COVID deaths did not occur until February. So, we can accurately say that about 1.75 human beings per day perished from drugs and one died of COVID approximately every other day.

As a nation, we have literally spent trillions of dollars and stood the entire economy on its head to fight a disease that kills about 1.5% of the victims of reported cases, a large percentage of whom had short life expectancy due to age and/or infirmity. Since the actual rate of infection is undoubtedly much larger than the reported number (as documented by several studies looking for the presence of antibodies), the mortality is well under 1%. In contrast, we spend hundreds of millions for sustenance and medical care for alcoholics/drug addicts. Our progressive City provides them with clean needles and hotel rooms. One hundred percent of those addicted to mood altering chemicals are a drag on the economy (and the sanity of those who have to cope with their behavior) and virtually all of them die prematurely. Clearly, our public health priorities are a bit misaligned.

So-called advocates for the “unsheltered” who occupy and soil our City’s streets contend that the problem isn’t drugs; it’s mental illness. That is a lie! There are a lot of people on the street who suffer from schizophrenia and/or clinical depression, but the majority of them are also addicts or alcoholics or both. If they cleaned up, the severity of their mental anguish would diminish in almost all cases. At least 2/3 of the folks on the street are on something and we spend a lot of money to keep them in bondage to their addiction. Somewhere between 10 and 15% of the population of our country is on something, conning their way to the next hit and creating havoc for their family, employer, and anyone else with whom they come in contact.

What could we do about the situation?

First, acknowledge the problem. Until we stare the issue squarely in its face, we will continue to enable destructive behavior instead of discouraging it. We can deal with those whose sole problem is mental illness by sheltering them and attempting to diagnose and treat their problem. Medication does help in some cases if those suffering are willing to keep taking it.

Second, legalize drugs of all kinds. We lost the war on drugs. Let’s sign a peace treaty and eliminate the huge profit margins that the war has created for the drug gangs who terrorize Mexico and Central America. Some governmental or heavily regulated entity can sell drugs with potency that won’t lead to overdoses. We should treat drug bags like cigarettes. The package should display a stern warning and a phone number for rehab services.

We are taxing ourselves to pay for COVID vaccinations. We can tax ourselves to pay for rehab for anybody who wants to get out of addict jail and we can pay for a relentless campaign to encourage participation. There are plenty of recovering addicts who would be happy to get paid to help those still suffering. Our economy would improve markedly if a significant portion of the addicted population made a contribution instead of continually conning the system to support a habit. Lots of abused spouses and children would lead better lives. Lots of drunk driving fatalities would be avoided.

Our public health system did a mediocre job of coping with COVID. Some serious soul searching is underway as a result. Maybe we can look at the addiction issue as part of that process. Whilst looking for a better way to cope with the next epidemic, let’s also look at the one whose existence we are currently denying.