Is it fair for a State to suspend the driver's license of someone caught driving under the influence of alcohol? If you're like most people, you answered "yes" without hesitation. Thousands of people are killed each year to drunk drivers. Suspension seems a mild punishment for such reckless and dangerous behavior.
With this in mind, it's inconsistent and wrong minded for a State to punish a drunk driver and yet allow a person to drive under the influence of a narcotic. But that's currently the law in Arizona. Methadone, widely prescribed by State run or psychiatric based drug rehab programs to treat heroin addiction, is exempt from the DUI statute.
This exemption is being challenged by a new bill now in the state senate. The bill was prompted by a crash in 2007 where a driver, high on methadone and other drugs, swerved into oncoming traffic and struck a car carrying five high school cheerleaders.
A drug free approach to heroin addiction is available, but Methadone, itself a powerfully addictive substance, is typically used in state run drug rehab programs. The pharmaceutical lobby has tremendous clout in the legislature and no doubt has influenced their decision. As long as safer, more effective treatment options exist, a drug free approach should immediately replace methadone programs. This is how I would approach the issue when it comes to drug rehab in Georgia of any state for that matter.
Fritz Alders
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