The importance of funding accredited drug and alcohol abuse centers should not be overlooked. I will tell you it’s true that most people think this epidemic will never touch their family.  Yet that is naive.  And if new measures aren’t taken to fight this war, no one in this country will ever be able to feel that way.

What I’ve seen and heard as our Presidential and even local level candidates hit the campaign trail is a new focus on a call for additional federal funding for drug and alcohol treatment centers throughout the country. The War On Drugs declared by President Nixon in 1971 and the only war to be fought on American soil since the Civil War and the subsequent ” Just Say No” campaign popularized by Nancy Regan in the 80s are failing.  The reason(s) don’t really matter.  Both have failed to prevent substance abuse from reaching epidemic proportions resulting in adversely affecting the lives of most Americans.

Our candidates seem to recognize the cries from families around the country for affordable, long term, effective treatment for their loved ones suffering from addiction. Treating alcohol and substance abuse, as opposed to incarceration, is where our dollars can be the most effective.

Long term treatment centers, like Narconon, around the country are in a position to help put an end to this epidemic of addiction. The keys here are education and understanding with effective aftercare.

Treatment is a marathon not a sprint and as with all educational based programs funding is essential.

My daughter’s fiancé was fortunate enough to be able to enroll at Narconon New Life Retreat where he was given the tools and aftercare to find success over addiction. Yet not all families are in a position to get their loved ones the type of care necessary for long term success.

This is where additional federal funding for opening educational, long term care programs to more families is so vitally needed.  Narconon and similar extended care programs are available. They are effective, well managed, facilities which, simply put, work!!

Please join me in supporting those candidates who recognize the importance of treatment through education, is the answer to winning the war on drugs

Guest Blogger David Smith

A retired factory employee, David spends his days volunteering at both a horse farm servicing disabled children and at a nursing home driving a transport bus.  An avid sprint car devotee since he was a child, he longs to travel to sprint car tracks throughout the US (especially the Chili Bowl in Oklahoma) and along with his wife of 30 plus years encourages one of their two children to provide them with a grandchild as soon as possible.