Is it just me, or is Trump's "strategy" for dealing with the opioid crisis just another layer of paint on Nancy Reagan's tired old "Just Say No" campaign from the 1980s?
If only those grade school kids had listened to Nancy and Just Said No, there wouldn't even be an opioid crisis today, amirite?
Except we all know how that turned out:
"Fears of children getting addicted to drugs gave rise to the school-to-prison pipeline. Shortly after the First Lady launched her Just Say No campaign, Congress passed the Drug-Free Schools and Communities Act in 1986, mandating zero tolerance for any drugs or alcohol found on public school grounds. That brought police officers into schools. Those police officers then started arresting students not only for drug possession but also for minor school code infractions, such as throwing Skittles or violating the dress code."
I'd be more inclined to believe that President Dotard actually meant well if our Attorney General and National Lawn Gnome Jeff Sessions weren't out there threatening to jail anyone who so much as looks at a cannabis plant.
You'll forgive me for saying this all seems like more magical thinking in terms of how we think about addiction and treatment in this country. Because if history is any guide, the only ones benefiting from this latest front in our eternal War On Drugs will be these people.
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