Letters to the Editor (July 11)
War on drugs
New decade, new drug war debacle. The current iteration of the “War on Drugs” is now destroying the lives of select citizens in a new way. This time they claim that we have an “opioid epidemic” that is killing people by the gazillions. What they don’t tell you is that they are feeding the public statistics that do not distinguish between heroin users, opioid abusers, and legitimate patients suffering from intractable pain. As a result, many of those patients are forced to suffer because of new Draconian restrictions on their treatment.
As the current hysteria gains traction, law-abiding pain patients who have followed the rules to the letter for years are now finding their medications drastically reduced, and in some cases, cut altogether. Family physicians, fearful of this modern-day Inquisition, are dropping patients — many of which have been treated for decades without incident. The patient then faces a choice: live in agony, commit suicide or become an illicit user of heroin or illegally acquired opiates. No wonder there is a spike in illicit drug cases.
At least the politicians who support this lunacy can claim that they’re “tough on drugs” at election time, right?
David Springs, Wichita
Defeating ISIS
If President Trump was serious about defeating ISIS, he’d halt his “military assertiveness “ against Syria and withdraw U.S. forces immediately. U.S. military involvement has, incredibly, protected ISIS from Syrian government attacks.
Under international law, it’s a war crime to initiate aggression against a country that hasn’t raised a fist to you. The U.S. illegally set up a military base in Syria, shot down a Syrian warplane and bombed a Syrian airbase. Western media is complicit in spinning this aggression as righteous. The military-industrial complex benefits, taxpayers foot the enormous bill, and the cost in blood is yet to be seen.
Sheila Young, Hutchinson
Nico Hernandez
It would be awesome if Nico Hernandez could be on Terrance Bud Crawford fight card in Lincoln, Neb., on August 19. Lots of people in Wichita and Kansas in general would make that road trip!
Greg Moore, Wichita
Letters to the Editor
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This story was originally published July 11, 2017 at 5:02 AM with the headline "Letters to the Editor (July 11)."