Uploaded March 2026 | Updated September 2026, 1 day ago
I was sitting in a restaurant one evening with my sister who was in from out of town. We were talking about the homeless issue and about illegal drug use and addiction. She expressed the view that I’ve heard from many conservatives–that addiction to drugs is the result of an addict’s lack of character. “So,” I asked her, “your solution to this problem would be to build their character?” She didn’t have an answer to that. I don’t think she ever THOUGHT about a solution to the issue, other than perhaps jail. And then I said something that surprised even me. I said “people take drugs because they are hurting. It’s all kind of like Tylenol, or aspirin. We’re essentially talking about pain relief.” My sister argued that “these people” were getting high, their drug use wasn’t about pain. “We all have pain,” I said. Then I asked, “How do you know what pain anyone else has?, what hurt anyone carries, physically.. or mentally?” I had a glass of wine in front of me and I took a drink. “A-hah!,” my sister says to me. “You’re drinking alcohol! That’s a drug, too! What pain are you trying to drown with that wine?”
I was sitting in a restaurant one evening with my sister who was in from out of town. We were talking about the homeless issue and about illegal drug use and addiction. She expressed the view that I’ve heard from many conservatives–that addiction to drugs is the result of an addict’s lack of character. “So,” I asked her, “your solution to this problem would be to build their character?” She didn’t have an answer to that. I don’t think she ever THOUGHT about a solution to the issue, other than perhaps jail. And then I said something that surprised even me. I said “people take drugs because they are hurting. It’s all kind of like Tylenol, or aspirin. We’re essentially talking about pain relief.” My sister argued that “these people” were getting high, their drug use wasn’t about pain. “We all have pain,” I said. Then I asked, “How do you know what pain anyone else has?, what hurt anyone carries, physically.. or mentally?” I had a glass of wine in front of me and I took a drink. “A-hah!,” my sister says to me. “You’re drinking alcohol! That’s a drug, too! What pain are you trying to drown with that wine?”
