Bluegrass Institute’s Jim Waters weighs in on bills proposed to curb meth making in the Commonwealth.
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Before moving back to Lexington, I was a Mental Health Specialist and Community Counselor for adults with severe mental illness and substance abuse issues in poverty stricken areas of Louisville, I know all to well the great lengths addicts will go to to get the necessary ingredients to feed their habit . I know from working with numerous adults whose livelihood depends on meth that they will find whatever means necessary to obtain ingredients. Often by using a “pawn” of sorts, (i.e. having someone that is not a convicted meth user/abuser buy and subsequently sell to said abuser the PSE) therefore by-passing the screening protocol.That being said, just because someone isn’t in their “database” doesn’t mean that addicts aren’t getting the medicine and that this viscous cycle isn’t being perpetuated. . The Meth epidemic in our state did not happen over night and for lawmakers to assume that proposing bills that obstruct civil liberties to all, in hopes of an overnight fix is absurd. Due to our state being singled out by the nation as having a terrible Meth issue has lead to our lawmakers to feel like they need to appear to be doing something to ratify the nations perception of our state, however, their bills and absurd decisions, made in haste, will continue to illuminate KY in the nation’s eyes, for the intrusion of everyone’s right and the in inability to see that quick fixes can do more harm than good.