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4 <br /> Question # (Robert Chalker): Mr. Chalker stated that one of his main concerns is the abuse <br /> of pharmaceutical opiates. He would like to see much stronger laws n possession, distribution, <br /> trafficking; how do we stop the flow from down south? Efforts expended on prevention have not <br /> worked very well, <br /> Randy bunt: The drug traffic problem is analogous to the illegal immigration problem, in that if <br /> there is demand people will find a way to get here for jobs, and if there is a demand for drugs, <br /> people will find a way to get therm. If we could come up With ways to curtail the demand, then <br /> the problem would solve itself. III'lr. Hunt recommends treatment and then placement after <br /> treatment, removing the abuser from his old environment. Treatment costs are far less than <br /> money to maintain individuals in jail. <br /> Dan Wolf: 80 to % of people in prisons are there for drug related issues. we are spending a <br /> lot of,money on something that is not working. We need to start thinking of substance abuse as <br /> an illness to be treated as such. Instead of using resources to treat criminals, start treating <br /> them as individuals who have an illness. Drug use is a symptom of a culture that is saying to <br /> kids, "We don't have a lot to do with your we don't know what to do with you, park in front of <br /> technology and be sick. It is aw symptom of something that is unhealthy. This culture is not <br /> engaging the intellect and the creativity of our youth in appropriate ways. The way to deal with <br /> this problem is to get the kids early and engage thein in a social contract that is not about <br /> nihilism and immediate gratification. It is about building a place that they can be proud of to <br /> raise their kids. Unless we do that, we are going to be dealing with a culture that is increasingly <br /> focused on what can l do in this moment to gratify ,myself, and not a culture built on a world. <br /> scale. This is a global issue of understanding where we want to be a generation from.now. <br /> What is driving the youth drug problem is hopelessness, lack of engagement and lack of a clear <br /> vision of what they want their life to be, and on a collective basis, ghat they want to be part of in <br /> the communities in which we,lure. If harsher punishment works, I haven't seen evidence of it. I <br /> have seen evidence that we need to think of this as an illness that needs to be treated as an <br /> illness, with compassion, with strength, with scientific evidence about what works and does not <br /> work not another emotional argument about blaming people who can't do anything about what <br /> we are blaming them for. <br /> David Vieira: The biggest issue in Massachusetts is substance abuse. It is a drain on our <br /> society. Prevention we need to ingest in is building a vision for these young people, getting <br /> them involved in after school activities life sports, the arts, giving therm hope for a better future. <br /> Charles Gasior thanked the legislators for their attendance, stating that the committee was <br /> honored to have them here. Mr. Gasior asked what kind of interaction they want to encourage <br /> between municipalities,'finance committees, selectmen and themselves. Mr. Dunt stated that <br /> this is the first time they have attended a Finance Committee meeting, and applauded Chris <br /> Avis for spearheading the session, and said that he would like to see ,more communities on the <br /> Cape doing the same thing. <br /> As there was no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 8:25 PM. <br /> Respectfully submitted, <br /> Ina G. Schl hm <br /> Recording cretar <br /> S <br /> .r <br />