Treat the addict
Here comes another letter to the editor about the stupid, failed War on (some) Drugs.
This time, it is about our County Council member, Arthur Brun. If his drug of choice was legal, he would be just another member of the Chamber of Commerce, just like a wine importer, a liquor distributor or a tobacco salesman. Read the Internet and all you see are people typing “lock him up and throw away the key!” It is true that Mr. Brun has been extremely dangerous and irresponsible, almost killing a policeman and in another incident, injuring a father and his six year old son. That is already against the law.
But just because he works for a pesticide company and has some pretty backward political views, does not mean he should go to jail for selling an unapproved drug. Your grandma or great grandma probably took amphetamines for her depression symptoms. Your great grandpa who fought in the World Wars or Korea got amphetamines from the military so he would stay awake and sharpen his focus. Maybe you took some Ritalin, an amphetamine, to study for a big test?
Don’t get me wrong, addiction is a terrible disease and there are often large social consequences, but most of Brun’s sketchy behavior came because his drug of choice was made illegal by well meaning politicians. Statistically, our island probably has ten thousand alcohol addicts, twenty thousand tobacco addicts, fifty thousand caffeine addicts and probably only a few hundred amphetamine addicts. Your grandparents used “pep pills” (amphetamines) they got from their doctors.
Amphetamines were widespread among middle class house wives back in the fifties. These pep pills worked great for depression. Trust me, most of them were not addicts, but some were. Placing blame on a drug is silly. Only about one in ten people who take addicting drugs actually become addicted. Councilman Brun and his little “gang” are probably all addicted to amphetamines. They went into business to preserve their unallowed habit.
Let’s not blame the drug, let’s treat the addict. They deserve our compassion, they need psychotherapy, not jail.
Gordon LaBedz, Kekaha
He should go to jail for distribution and exploiting his power. Although chemically Meth and Adderral are very similar, the delivery method makes it far deadlier and addictive. We cannot just treat any addict and use at as an excuse for all their terrible behavior. Your short sighted liberal nonsense is why many cities and regions are now overrun with criminals, homelessness, broken homes, and misery. Lock him up and hopefully he develops himself into someone that can find a way to restore his name and start making repairs to a community that he poisoned and exploited for money.
So all the other dangerous felons who run criminal enterprises, sell drugs, intimidate witnesses, have illegal firearms, ruin lives by providing illegal drugs and flaunt our laws belong in prison but not Brun? Why? What’s so different about him? He’s just another criminal who thinks he’s above the law and used his position of power to abuse our Island.
Sorry, not buying that for a minute. Being addicted is one thing but selling and organizing drug sales to your neighbors and your neighbor’s kids is another. Yes he needs to step down, get treatment and pay for the harm he has caused to society.
Your letter misses the entire point of the situation. It’s not about the drugs. It’s about the position he was elected to, the disrespect shown to his family, and all those citizens living here. It’s about failing to follow through with his responsibilities of the job. And now he refuses to resign because of the $5000+ a month he receives and needs for his half ass attorney to lead him no where except to jail for a good 20 years or better. Taxpayers hard earned money he has not earned. it’s time to move forward and get rid of him period. Thank you mr. Chock for getting the ball rolling.
Your letter misses the point of the whole situation. It has nothing to do with taking a drug of choice. Speak for yourself with your relatives, friends, grandma and grandpa taking illegal drugs. This is about all the disrespect of what has taken place and God only knows how much more will become of this mess. 20 years in a jail cell will make anyone have to stop and think about what he should have done. Stop with the humanatarium act. He will get what he has ordered .
It is obvious that Arthur Brun was not just a meth user. It appears that he was a major dealer, and has been contributing to the decline and sketchy irresponsible lifestyles displayed by the island’s “tweakers”. Tweakers act irresponsibly and often steal to support their meth habit. I prefer to live, and prefer my family to live, surrounded by normal people, not those strung out on meth.
There is no excuse for his actions. He could have easily supported a meth habit using the taxpayers money (County Council salary) and his pesticide company salary.
He should be kept under lock and key for many years, and receive a serious education about his actions and the results of those actions.
I also think he should be provided with therapy for his addiction and therapy for his wrong-mindedness. That is as much as this bleeding heart liberal is willing to provide for the likes of Arthur Brun.
What a joke. Not only is methamphetamine a supper addictive and dangerous drug but it contributes to many more island issues. Crime & theft from addicts trying to find their next high. All these burnt out and abandoned cars littering our roadways and getting washed into our ocean. Who do you think is doing these things? Hint, it’s not the people who actually go to work and contribute to society. Families ripped apart, children watching their parents stay up for days at a time “tweaking” withering away to nothing with dark rotten teeth. I could go on and on…. Bottom line is that the person in charge of “public safety” should be addressing these issues NOT CONTRIBUTING to them. This guy has had chances and has continued prove what type of person he is. He is lucky that he hasn’t killed any innocent people with his incredible driving skills.. Get this guy off the council and off the streets, he doesn’t deserve any more of my (our) tax money!!
Brun is a drug dealer destroying lives of young people and old. He deserves to be in jail for the rest of his life.
mAhalo Gordon, Nailed It! Psychotherapy compassion!
Never Jail, that goes for those currently imprisoned illegally for your addiction related havoc!
Reorder the prison system and make room for the real criminals and their many thousand “guilty Kealoha stolen mailboxes”!
Oya a cocopalms partay, third floor.
Your argument would hold more weight if he were merely a user of methamphetamine. He apparently was one of the principals involved in a major illegal drug operation, responsible for selling highly addictive drugs to any and all takers. Our laws are written to protect us from the abuse of others. What we do to ourselves is of our own choosing so long as it does no harm to others. When we knowingly bring harm to others there should be consequences. Hopefully he will receive treatment while he is serving his sentence, should he be convicted.
Mahalo Gordon,
Let’s also not forget that the medical business is in the business of prescribing carcinogenic (cancer causing) petrochemical prescription drugs to the tune of 80% of Americans taking 1 or more prescription drugs, a day, while 55% of Americans take 4 or more prescription drugs a day (we’ve even heard of up to 20 prescription drugs a day + more over the counter drugs). Some people are drug sponges under the directions (prescriptions) of doctors.
Those percentages would make any drug dealer not only jealous but complain of Unfair Trade Practices.
The real losers are the naive people taking those drugs whether from their doctor or dealer.
Prescription drugs have nothing to do with Health, due to their toxic, internal bodily reactions, they perpetuate Disease, and produce side effects that are outrageous, the worst of all the side effects being fatal death reactions to prescriptions…in spite of the Happy Actors telling you otherwise.
The one primary, “take the cake”, pollutant on earth is PETROLEUM, petroleum comes from coal in coal mines, and from oil in oil wells.
The uniqueness of the discovery of oil is that it not only makes planes and trains, and cars, boats, and rocket ships go…the molecules of petroleum are able to be altered in order to make thousands of plastic and thousands of other products, from your polyester clothing (wearing oil today, why that’s odd?), to those additives in your food, READ THE FOOD LABELS.
See those hard to read, pronounce, and spell words are usually the names of chemicals made from oil, petroleum, cancer causing molecules that you are eating.
But wait, so are the ingredients in your prescription and over the counter medicines, too many of which are petrochemicals, they are poison, toxic, and cause, that is why they cause secondary side effects speed spoken on TV IN THE DRUG Advertisements by happy actors and background voices.
The sad part about Meth is that it is made from chemicals that are also toxic, are also petrochemicals, and also cause DEATH. And one of our own was selling this death and disease causing drug with sales that trickle down to our school students…that is horrific and in some countries it is a death sentence.
These same pollutants from petroleum are the nuts and bolts of the seed companies reliance on agriculture poisons being sprayed on West Kaua’i 320 days a year. Mr. Brun, you are part of food agriculture poisoning and people meth poisoning and the result of your reckless behavior led to road wreckage. 3 BADS.
Meth, coke, heroin, pakalolo, alcohol, tobacco are all escape abuse, but escaping to where? Ask yourself if you are a user. Lose $$$, lose Health, lose out…!
The medical professions keeps moving further from Health and every day their scientists are looking for a Pill for Every ill.
Right now they are looking for a vaccine, another flu shot, to treat the Corona Virus, while the scientists are saying as much as 1/2 the people who get the virus will experience no symptoms.
NO SYMPTOMS…? Yes, That means those people with no symptoms have a fully functioning IMMUNE SYSTEM. By the way, a full functioning immune system is coordinated by your Nervous System, you know, that thing in your head and running down your back…!
Wait, why is there no mention of a full functioning Immune System as a solution for the flu.
Ask the drug companies, ask the doctors…Full Functioning Immune Systems Don’t Sell Drugs. There is no profit in People’s Full Functioning Immune Systems.
Why is there no emphasis on making our own Immune System the solution to the FLU, any flu, and many sicknesses?
Why.? Because Capitalism is intent on Profits, sales, more drugs.
The medical profession has let former Health Care become Disease Care, because the medical profession makes more $$$ from Disease than they Can from Health. Medical Care has succumbed to Capitalism…cast ethics to the wind, and fate will follow.
Health Care is live natural no additives no chemicals no sugar no GMO no Agricultural poisons in our FOOD. There’s more but that is what is some of what goes in our bodies. You certainly are made of what you eat. Health is Daily Self Care.
MEDICINE is something you don’t ever want…you want HEALTH, and HEALTH don’t need Medicines.
Active Optimal Life Longevity does not Come from going to the doctor and taking drugs, it comes from staying Healthy…and doing Healthy things every single day.
One needs to learn the basics of Health.
Physicians (teachers) used to educate people about Health, sadly almost all have resorted to the much simpler Prescription Pad…a few foreign words and a scribbled signature on a prescription and…”NEXT…!”
That’s what it has come to…sell drugs…pharmaceutical, agricultural, food additives, alcohol,tobacco, and street drugs…about 90% of Americans are on drugs.
It’s the Sign of a Weak Nation…!
Gordon, mahalo for being a teacher, really, even if you don’t know it, you are a physician…!