Making the right choices
By Bob Robinson

Picture yourself in his shoes. He walked into the courtroom a free man. A half hour later he was being handcuffed and led to a holding cell to await a Sheriff’s Deputy to take him to the Darke County Jail. He’s 34. He’s been in prison several times. He’s been on the Darke County Jail’s guest list 11 times. This time he gets to enjoy their hospitality for 90 days…

Then he has to go to the MonDay program; minimum three to four months. Then he will be watched like a hawk for five years… one misstep and it will be another free ride to prison.

How did it happen? He made a choice to get involved in drugs.

I’ve been sitting in Darke County Common Pleas Judge Jonathan Hein’s courtroom for months. Most of the defendants I’ve seen are in their early to late 20’s. One young woman left in tears as she was remanded to custody to be transported to prison. She had just had a baby. Another left in tears because her mother was ill and might not be alive when she returns to Darke County.

They also made choices. The wrong ones.

Another woman was in her 40’s… had “done” everything from underage consumption of alcohol and smoking pot to the hard stuff. With her it was no longer a case of “choice.” That decision was made long ago. Now it’s an addiction she has to somehow beat.

The odds are not good.

I teach communications at Edison. The majority of my students are high school juniors and seniors. One of their assignments is to argue pro and con on topics of their choice. Legalization of marijuana is often a favorite. There will always be a few – sometimes a majority – who are in favor of it.

Is pot more harmful than cigarettes? Yep. There is more ammonia, hydrogen cyanide and nitrogen-related chemicals in “weed” than there is in a comparable number of cigarettes. It carries the double whammy of being brutal to your body and your judgment at the same time.

Some say it isn’t a “gateway” to harder drugs. If true, then why do so many start with pot and graduate to heroin and meth? Could it be the weed “high” gets old? Or a supplier expanding his market? I know someone who was lighting up a joint and discovered too late it was laced with a psychedelic. He still had flashbacks 10 years later. Heroin and meth are highly addictive. Could they be part of the next joint you buy from your local street vendor?

As many as 9 out of 10 Darke County Jail guests are there because of some kind of drug problem. Theft, robbery, breaking and entering... usually they’re stealing to buy drugs. And in recent months, the jail has been filled to capacity with overflow offenders being shipped off to Mercer County.

Why?

Most people I’ve talked with say it falls back to the family. Parents don’t seem to be as involved with their children today. Maybe. I know my parents were on top of my antics. Of course in some cases, kids have to watch their parents being carted off to jail… then 10 years later no one is surprised when it’s the kid’s turn.

Enormous sums of money are being spent to catch the traffickers (pushers), most of whom are users. They are arrested and booked at our expense. They go to court at our expense. They have an attorney represent them at our expense. They get probation, jail or prison… all at our expense.

Someone I respect recently said they were doing their best to get the pushers off the street. I agreed. But I also wondered…

What if someone offered drugs and no one cared? Would there be a supply if there was no market? What is so wonderful about drugs that so many make the wrong choices?

Better yet, how do we teach kids to make the right choices? Maybe my students will have an idea… before long it will be their job to deal with it.

And pay for it.