Dr. Ben Carson opted for a morality-based view of drug addiction and calls for a continuation of the expensive and failed war on drugs.
As medical science advances, it’s becoming increasingly clear there is a strong biological component to the dire problem of drug addiction.Â
So it was surprising to hear retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson on “Face The Nation” Sunday blame drug addiction not on biology or physiology of the brain but on morality and strength of character.
Asked about a recent poll that shows 25 percent of New Hampshire voters believe drug addiction is their state’s most serious problem, Dr. Carson told CBS News anchor John Dickerson that there “are all kinds of addictions and addictions occur in people who are vulnerable who are lacking something in their lives, so we really have to start asking ourselves what have we taken outside of our lives in America?”
“What are some of those values and principles that allowed us to ascend the ladder of success so rapidly to the pinnacle of the world and the highest pinnacle anyone else had ever reached, and why are we throwing away all of our values and principles for the sake of political correctness?,” Carson offered, when asked to speak “as a doctor.”
Carson then pivoted to the specific issue of heroine, stating that American must have the determination to continue the war on drugs, despite the fact it has proven to be a dismal failure that has had an huge and unquantifiable cost on human life, not to mention the nation’s treasury.
Think Progress notes, “Carson’s comments come shortly after two Princeton economists released findings that the rising death rates for middle-aged white people, especially those were less educated, may stem from substance abuse problems. In comparison, the death rates for middle-aged black and Hispanic people are going down. Although there was a sharp rise in the suicide rate for middle-aged white people, drug abuse was most responsible for pushing up the death rate, the New York Times reported.”
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Image: Screenshot via YouTube
Hat tip: Think Progress and Raw Story
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