Column: Where’s the leadership in the ongoing war on drugs?

Like it or not, this nation is at war, but this fight is not overseas. The drug cartels have infiltrated virtually every neighborhood and every school. We can’t even keep them out of our jails and prisons.

Some still blame the addict. That attitude ignores the fact that the human brain has not evolved to create defenses against synthetic opioids. It also ignores that many get hooked unknowingly and that some die when given a fentanyl-laced pill they thought was something else. The drug is so powerful that homeless encampments have sprung up all over America because people sold everything they owned to get it. We need to move on from blaming the addicts to fighting the drug-dealing murderers. Too many families have lost a loved one or a friend to ignore the problem any longer.

Americans have known what needs to be done for many years, but have lacked the will to do it. Briefly, we need to do three things:

1. Restrict the supply.

2. Reduce the demand.

3. Increase the punishment for drug dealers.

Obviously, restricting the supply begins by tightening border security. If agents are off corralling illegals over thousands of miles of wilderness, they are unable to focus on the checkpoints, checking the wheel wells, door panels and undercarriages of every vehicle entering the country.

That is a job for the federal government, but the Biden administration seems to have no solutions.Because of corruption or fear, the Mexican government no longer controls much of its territory; the cartels do. To stop the flow of drugs, it may seem radical, but the U.S. needs to consider surgical strikes on the drug manufacturing sites and distribution centers south of the border. Tell Mexican authorities if they can’t stop them, we will. Killing tens of thousands of Americans should be met by more than a shrug.

At the state level, little-law-and-much-disorder Gov. Tim Walz has proposed giving $300 million to local governments for public safety. Walz says, the local governments should decide whether the funds are used for recruiting and paying more police, higher pay for existing police or a new fire truck. That’s fine, but what is lacking is a commitment by the state to expand its interagency drug task forces and Bureau of Criminal Apprehension investigative capacity to focus on disrupting the supply chain.

To reduce demand, it would help if both parents worked together to raise a child. A second step should be to get toddlers and infants screened as soon as possible for physical deficits that may impede learning. Waiting until the child is 4 or 5 is too late. The child will already be behind.

A third step would be to restore discipline in all schools. The murder at St. Paul Harding High School two weeks ago has drawn attention to the chaos that occurs in that building daily. More dollars won’t fix that; better administration in support of teachers would, as well as instilling an expectation that students will learn. Minnesota student test scores have become abysmal; it should not be a mystery that many students drop out, having no hope for the future, and then fall prey to drug dealers and gangs.

Some people think that as long as first responders have Narcan available for overdose victims and fentanyl test strip are available, that is sufficient. By the time people are in need of Narcan, usually so much has gone wrong in their lives that the chances of them ever becoming productive citizens has dropped dramatically. Walz’ budget also proposes $22 million to treat opioid addiction, but makes no mention of doing more to rein in the dealers.

One positive development has been the expansion of drug courts in Minnesota to help addicts get their lives back together. At the same time, there is a growing frustration that too many judges are going too easy on drug dealers and other violent offenders. In the last election, only one Minnesota judge had opposition. Someone needs to begin monitoring the courts to see which judges are soft on crime and to find members of the bar association willing to challenge them.

And finally, the Legislature needs to revise the criminal code so that dealers are not just charged with third degree murder when they kill someone. The dealers know they are dealing death. They need to pay a price that will make everyone think twice about becoming a dealer.

If you think about it, illegal drugs play a significant role in most of the problems that today’s society faces. Hunger. Homelessness. Crime. Violence. Broken families. Even children using marijuana are more likely to become mentally ill. The Legislature is busy carving up a huge surplus into a hundred different piles and Sen. Amy Klobuchar is making sure Minnesotans can get Taylor Swift concert tickets, but this drug crisis is out of control. The political class needs to reset its priorities.

Tom West, now retired, is the former general manager of The Morrison County Record and is now a columnist for APGECM. Reach him at westwords.mcr@gmail.com.