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October 26, 2007 at 20:27:04     Permalink Congress to blame for drug problem Diary Entry by Mark Anderson (about the author)

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Why Congress shares culpability for the drug problem.

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After seeing up close and personally a plurality of people involed with drugs, I have made a few observations.

While this may not be absolutely true in every case, I believe this to be a fairly accurate proverb: there is a nexus between drug abuse and government subsidies.

A certain family member of mine who has been a drug addict - albeit obtaining his drugs legally through doctors - also receives a hefty disability check from both Social Security and the VA.  This curtails his need to go out and be productive, thus allowing him to sit at home and spend time using drugs.  This family member of mine isn't even all that disabled.

The apartment complex I live in is filled with drug users and small time drug dealers.  There are people who you would never assume to be involved in the business that are - e.g., older women dealing in Loratabs.  It just so happens that these older ladies in their fifties are on Social Security Disability.  Out of a few hundred residents in my apartment complex, if everybody was drug tested, conservatively everybody but maybe 10 of us would test positive for drug use.

A neighbor of mine routinely has people who are the quintessential examples of crack whores over to his place.  One of them even tried to solicit a drug sale with me, but I am not into that and told them to get lost.  This created enmity between me and some dope dealers.  I am in a very unsafe situation, and, quite frankly, I blame the government.

This neighbor of mine is in his thirties.  He is not really disabled.  In fact, having 12 screws in my shoulder, I am much the more disabled than him, but I do not wish to collect Social Security Disability.  My neighbor was able to collect Social Security Disability thanks to the heretical practice of psychiatry - i.e., he received some type of psychiatric diagnosis for some fictitious "mental illness."  He, himself, even jokes about how he gets Social Security Disability for being an alcoholic.

This neighbor of mine is an alcoholic, uses meth, cocaine, as well as other drugs.  From information garnered straight from him, he blows over $500 a month on alcohol and drugs.  He doesn't need to do anything productive with his life, because he gets a government check for spending his time using drugs and alcohol.

On one hand, there is a federal war on drugs, which serves as more of a price support for drug dealers than anything.  On the other hand, the government is in the business of subsidizing the very problem it pretends to fight.

This, then, is my modest proposal: mandatory, periodic and random drug testing for those collecting Social Security Disability.  If people are spending their money on drugs, they need not collect Social Security Disability.  The system is so broken in terms of how it is carelessly handing out checks to people.  Perhaps this would be a good first-step in reforming the system.

 

 

Mark served for four years on active duty in the Marine Corps infantry, and was a candidate for a municipal office in 2002. Mark has helped raise awareness of military and veterans' issues, by establishing more...)
 

 

 
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