The Crisis of Opioid, Fentanyl, Cocaine etc. -- But Who Is to Blame?

Well, first of all, we blame El Chapo and the Drug Cartel. But El Chapo is already in a New York maximum-security prison. Does this mean the problem has been significantly alleviated? Second, we’ll blame opioid manufacturers and make them pay hefty compensations, so that local governments and lawyers will have their big payday. But how would that help the victims, many of whom have already left this world from overdoses at very young ages? Third, we may blame China for allegedly exporting Fentanyl to North America, but China is such a redoubtable force today that one would be unrealistic to expect it to change its behaviour on anybody’s say-so, assuming the allegations are true .

The point is that to blame somebody else for any problem does make us feel better, but it may not be the most effective way to have our problems resolved. My belief is that in order to achieve tangible results, we may need to point fingers at ourselves as well -- that is, in addition to holding the culprits accountable. We need to tackle the demand side of the illegal drug equation by trying to convince our young people to do the difficult but right thing: Stop using illegal drugs!

One day, in the late summer of 2015, I invited a young man to a simple evening meal at a cosy, delightful restaurant in town, so that I might have an opportunity to hear about his plans for the future. He had recently graduated from a nice Catholic high school, so I encouraged him to move on to college or university, or at least take a tertiary-level correspondence course in a subject of interest to him, which was not expensive, I said, but which would help pave the way for his career. Alternatively, I said, he could attend a vocational school to learn a certain trade, so that he would be able to use his acquired skills to sell his services for a living. We all needed to sell something, either goods or services, even lip service or nonsense, as a livelihood, “That’s just one of the harsh realities of life nobody can escape,” I added.

To my surprise, he replied that since times had changed, what had worked before wouldn’t work under the present circumstances. Sounding despondent, he told me that many young people, having lost hope, were on drug. “I used drug too, but I’ve quit,” he confessed. According to him, students nowadays have easy access to illegal drugs. When I said that Canada, with its superb social welfare safety net and Her Majesty’s Government providing absolute protection for individual rights and liberties, was a paradise on Earth that had the most reasonable system one could possibly expect, he disagreed.

“So, what do you want?” I asked. To my dismay, he responded promptly, without a sign of hesitation, “Socialism.” Apparently, he was sure that he knew more about socialism than I did, even though ironically I (not he) was the one who had lived under socialism for decades -- long enough to have the requisite knowledge for my writings on socialism -- such as my political thriller “The Socialist Cuckooland”, a novel totally based on my personal experiences in Mao’s socialist utopia.

So, that is the reality: During their formative years, our young people have easy access to illegal drugs in their school areas, and either inside or outside school, they are being taught that socialism would make their lives much easier because socialism would provide all sorts of freebies: socialist free meals, socialist free housing, socialist free college, socialist free medical care etc. “We are already very socialist here in Canada, young man,” I reminded him. “For instance, since you’re not yet working, not yet making money, you’re not at all required to pay Medical Service Plan premiums. That means you’re already enjoying socialist free medical care. How better could it get?” I teased. “Don’t you know quite a few Hollywood celebrities have plans to flee America and come to Canada?”

As odd as it struck me, the young man never for a moment appeared to suspect that socialism might be a spiritual opioid pushed out by political operatives with ulterior motives. Apparently, no one had ever warned him that a spiritual opioid could be as deadly as fentanyl from a narcotics pusher -- it could bury a young man’s future as quickly as opioid or fentanyl.

Yes, life under capitalism is tough. But since when is life supposed to be easy? Aren’t young people supposed to toughen up to handle the inescapable harsh realities of life? Since when is it supposed to be easy for one to make money? Since when is success supposed to come without effort? Can anyone become a successful doctor, lawyer, scientist, professor, money manager, or corporate CEO without years of study and hard work? Can anyone become a successful investor without (1) years of experience, (2) research on economics, financial markets and the performances of individual assets such as individual stocks and (3) the stomach and nerve to sustain the risks of market volatility and gyrations as well as economic and geopolitical headwinds? Since when is failure to learn to read and write at school supposed to be rewarded with well-paying jobs or “guaranteed income”?

One of my previous articles contains a mention of a homeless man. One evening, in the autumn of 2018, I met him again outside the movie house in my neighbourhood. Placing a coin in his palm, I reminded him that there would soon be winter shelters provided by the City Government. However, he informed me that winter shelters were not safe places for his possessions. He had been able to find work on certain construction sites during the summer and make some money, which he had deposited in a bank account. Out of curiosity, I asked, “Do you use drugs such as cocaine?” “No, not now,” he responded. “To be honest, I did, but I quit.” Then, he added that it was 8 years before that he had first accepted a coin from me.

“Good for you! I admire the tenacious spirit of survival in you,” I said, visualizing the tough circumstances he must have weathered all these years. Desperation had driven him to illegal drugs, but he had since quit. He had even been able to find work and deposit wages in a bank account, all because he wanted to live. Imagine that! Why can’t other addicts quit?

Illegal drugs are addictive, but this does not mean that one cannot quit. It depends on one’s will power, self- control and spirit of survival, that is, one’s ability to make a simple choice between life and death. The question is simple: Do I want to live, or do I want to die?

Thousands of years ago, a very intelligent man of great philosophical insight uttered these words of profound wisdom: “Go in through the narrow gate, because broad and spacious is the road leading off to destruction, and many are the ones going in through it; whereas narrow is the gate and cramped the road leading off to life, and few are the ones finding it.”

The name of that intelligent man is Jesus Christ, and you can find those words of wisdom from him in The Bible: Matthew 7:13. I am not a member of any church, but you are welcome to give me credit for having had the modesty and humility to read the entire book through from Genesis to Revelation. I must confess that I do not remember everything I have read, but these words of wisdom have a big impact on me.

Isn’t it true that the difficult choice like “the narrow gate and cramped road” tends to be the right choice, whereas the easy choice like “the broad and spacious road” tends to be the wrong choice? To go on drug is to become one of those going in through “the broad and spacious road leading off to destruction”. Addicts need to find “the narrow gate leading off to life” and make the right choice, that is, to muster all the will power and resolve in their souls and then quit.

My suggestion to addicts: They should copy the above-mentioned passage (The Bible: Matthew 7:13) on a piece of paper, post it on the wall and read these words of profound wisdom several times a day for the rest of their lives. Chances are this process may help them find “the narrow gate” -- that is, the resolve to quit.

My suggestion to educators: Please incorporate the above-mentioned words of wisdom in school textbooks, not as a religious sermon, but as a teaching of life philosophy, and make sure that students comprehend and memorize these words of wisdom. Chances are youngsters with these words of profound wisdom ingrained on their youthful consciousness will never touch illegal drugs and may go on to live their productive lives, making such beneficial contributions to society as shall fill their parents and educators with pride.. (1st September 2019)

By Robert M. Liu - author of “The Socialist Cuckooland”