The Right Answer to Drug Abuse
- Share via
* Re “O.C. Teen Drug Arrests Soar; Treatment Lags” (Sept. 11):
Finally someone is paying attention to the teenage drug problem.
As a society, we should prefer treatment and prevention to incarceration. Jail and prison are not the answer to drug abuse.
My son did not have access to treatment programs as a teenager and is now serving a minimum 25 years to life under the three-strikes law as a non-violent offender. His third strike was for possession of $10 worth of cocaine. It can happen to your child.
Give treatment a chance; 80% of California prisoners are locked up because of drugs. Sending $1.3 billion to Colombia is not keeping people from using drugs. Building a new prison in Delano will not prevent drug use. We need to implement programs that build lives, not destroy them.
VIVIAN MOEN
Fountain Valley
Sign up for Essential California
The most important California stories and recommendations in your inbox every morning.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
