COLLINS: Is rehashing old ideas going to help in the war on drugs?

Sep 26, 2024 | 6:00 AM

MENTAL ILLNESS HAS BECOME one of the major crises facing the world today. That, coupled with the drug crisis, is on everyone’s lips.

There are all sorts of ideas being put forward, but there is little consensus on what solution works best. Treatment centres can be effective for some, but if an addict is going to get a free shot and get legally high, that is no answer. How can we logically say that’s an effective remedy?

Some of the ‘solutions’ might have some value if they were properly funded and enough resources were committed to them. But most programs don’t have enough resources to even make a small dent in the problem.

Now, the government has revived the issue of involuntary care. That’s kind of like a prison sentence, but while some may think it’s cruel and harsh, where is the line between the rights of one person and the rights of many? Do we give someone a free pass and more drugs so they go out and kill someone? Do we let someone with a long history of mental illness pick up an assault rifle and indiscriminately start shooting innocent people on the sidewalk, in a school or try to assassinate a former president? It’s pretty obvious there is no one plan that seems to work.

The mind is still largely uncharted territory. Many have tried to solve the riddles within the mass of nerves inside our skull, but we still know so little. And throwing large volumes of money at the issue is unlikely to have much impact. But the question remains — do we incarcerate the most serious of the mentally ill and the worst addicts? Or leave them out amongst the masses where the great majority of us are afraid of what might happen when they see an addict huddled in some dark alleyway, or a person with a mental problem yelling or talking as he walks down the street?