To even mention “drug war” is acknowledging the past when we had a drug czar to oversee the so called war on drugs. Today, Meth labs abound, with different concocted drugs than ever before, and now marijuana being sold in stores in certain states. It is a different world now, and the war is not being fought, it is being lost to greed, power and the quest for so called happiness. The heroin epidemic that is raging now is horrible and getting worse. What is the answer; I do not know.

 

Drug War Won? 2015-136                  

 

His breathing continued in gasps with wheezing,

He realized he would have what he needed soon.

Earlier, a quick grab at an old ladies purse, flight,

Then an exchange behind a dumpster in an alley.

 

A cigarette dangled from lips, cracked and swollen,

Two sunken eyes, red rimmed and veined, searched.

The burning gut sensation, beckoning him to hurry,

Ah, behind the office building, good enough.

 

Hurry, his body pleaded, the craving screamed,

Alone, now, prepare, yes, Ohhh, so good.

A stupor, a glazed look as he settled in a heap,

Once again, the feeling of forgetfulness.

 

A bureaucrat sat in front of desk so clean,

Thinking the war on drugs was being won.

Not knowing the anguish below his very window,

Or taking heed of the reasons for the need.

 

Is reality so much a chore to live in a daily way,

Where a false set of hope is in a vial or pill

Which becomes a better way to deal with life

In a way that promises nothing

 

The cost for this artificial crutch is immense

That goes way beyond the monetary,

And affects so many besides oneself,

Bringing on a bitterness of life.

 

What IS the answer for this additive scourge

Which permeates life in the fullest?

When will it end, if there is an end

To life in a different way than now?

 

Den Betts