Opiod crisis: Schools share blame for addiction

Re: “Shared blame for opioid death crisis” (TNT, 7/5).

The benevolent efforts to help drug addicts are commendable, but I think we often go at the trouble from the wrong end. It’s like trying to purify the stream at its mouth, instead of at the source of the pollution. The trouble starts with the ignorance of children. They need to be taught the dangers of smoking, drinking, and drugging. Parents and schools are at fault, but I mainly fault the schools, since many parents are ignorant of the perils, or are themselves hooked on the poisons.

In Germany, children in schools are shown films that educate them to the many agonies caused by addiction. Parents and schools should take up the important responsibility of seeing to it that youngsters understand the hazards of society’s temptations, instead of punishing them for what they see as harmless fun.

The government’s role is to see that schools do that.

This story was originally published July 13, 2017 at 1:52 PM with the headline "Opiod crisis: Schools share blame for addiction."