Also serving the communities of De Luz, Rainbow, Camp Pendleton, Pala and Pauma
Also serving the communities of De Luz, Rainbow, Camp Pendleton, Pala and Pauma
Raising “awareness” is not an effective strategy, it is a yearly reminder of how many times we have failed. According to the Sept. 5 article,
“Accidental fentanyl overdose deaths are now the #1 killer of 18–45-year-olds.” Let that fact sink in. It deserves far more than planting purple flags. Ms. Lightfoot suggests eliminating stigma should be a priority. But stigma has never been found to be a fundamental driver of overdose.
Increased availability combined with a failure to recognize that marijuana, tobacco, and alcohol are the drugs that begin nearly every drug abuser or addict’s journey.
While state and local elected officials focused on marijuana tax revenues, the marijuana industry focused on targeting youth for profit with ever more attractive and addictive products. Instead of healthier and more resilient young people, the #1 killer among 18–45-year-olds is now overdose and the #5 killer among both female and male preteens is suicide.
Providing treatment options is compassionate and necessary when the harms of drug use, abuse, and addiction have already occurred. But waiting to fix a problem will always increase the complexity and cost of the solutions.
Observing how many have died, after the fact, is not a strategy but an acknowledgement of how many times we have failed.
Joan McVeigh
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