There is a dark side to our society. It is the passing away of wasted lives. The death caused by the spectre of drug taking and overdoses.
In the last days two deaths were reported, one of a 20-year-old and another of a man who had just been released from the so-called Corradino Correctional Facility.
In the case of the 20-year-old, we were given the story of a depressed and dejected youth who was however much cared for and loved by his foster parents and relatives. It was the reality of a youth who knew nothing but a very hard life which had led him down the road of drug taking and eventually a fatal overdose.
The second case is about an individual who had spent years at Paola’s correctional facility, only to experience a heroin overdose on his release.
In both deaths, the drug involved was heroin. In both cases the pain to family and relatives is too immense to illustrate in this editorial.
Drug taking and its abuse is not new to Malta. The drug scene has been with us for years now, and yet the battle to save lives has not been a success story. Politicians have declared a zero-tolerance approach on drugs but have failed to dig deeper and ask the pertinent question: why does this happen and to whom?
We know that drugs have become more readily available to more different segments of society. The price of drugs, namely cocaine and ecstasy, has decreased, suggesting the increased proliferation of these drugs in our society.
There are rehabilitation centres which can talk of success in working on persons who have had a history of dependence on hard drugs. Yet, the bigger picture leads us to ask why have we failed so miserably in tackling this problem.
The fight by the police will not reduce the problem, but simply alleviate it. The root cause of taking hard drugs and the eventual dependence on them leads us to the social upheavals in our society which are negated and ignored by politicians and the media.
The worrying fact is that drug-taking commences at a very early stage in life: 13 and 15 years of age. And more worrying is the fact that all strata of society are at risk.
But those most at risk are those who have no support, and whose families and relatives are absent or simply not around. The realities of modern society, with its growing underclass and deprived niche groups, makes it a fertile ground for drug users.
The fight against drugs cannot be a direct war. It must understand the root problems, and though zero-tolerance should not be put aside, the solutions must be well thought after.
Today, the National Focal Point report will be published, along with government’s new drugs policy. The report will analyse data from different agencies and will paint a bleak picture of the drug problem. It will perhaps repeat the same facts that are known to all of us.
There will be usual recriminations and needless to say, the warning lights shone over the vulnerability of certain age groups, segments and groups in our society. There will be pleas for politicians, and the education and enforcement sectors to join forces. There will be the same response and promises that action will follow.
This human-created malaise cannot be addressed by hollow promises but by action, primarily by reacting to social breakdown and the ramifications which catalyse the right atmosphere for encouraging drug use. This problem requires assertiveness and resolve.