Tuesday, November 17, 2015

Our Other Problem

Those who chase the dragon get burned

Last week the Amherst Select Board, acting as liquor commissioners, spent two hours in heated public discussion weighing the problems caused by alcohol in our little college town.

They were trying to decide if a well run small business on the outskirts of downtown should have one of many beer/wine permits still available.

 Amherst Center Store located across street from Kendrick Place near UMass

Neighbors were nothing if not united in opposition citing student rowdiness, and the closeness of Amherst Center Store to both the UMass campus and of course the new controversial Kendrick Place apartments which they claim is overly populated by students.

The Select Board narrowly approved the liquor license by a 3-2 vote.

Heroin is of course an illegal drug, and unlike marijuana it will always stay that way.  For good reason.  It is killing our citizens -- especially our youth -- at an unprecedented rate.  More than 1,000 heroin/opioid deaths last year in the progressive state of Massachusetts.



I hope the three heroin overdoses over a very short period of time AFD and APD had to deal with Sunday night serve as a wake up call.

Before it's too late.   



5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Shows you how lost our town government is...because the residents of Kendrick place and others downtown couldn't be bothered to walk all...the...way..to Cousins to get their beer. Free market & available permit = no brainier. Knock it off and issue it.

Anonymous said...

Only one LSD reaction!

Anonymous said...

Why should Cousins have a monopoly at that end of town?

Dr. Ed said...

Isn't possession and/or use of Heroin a felony?

If we treated those taking Heroin like drunks, arresting them on pretext whenever/wherever possible, they wouldn't be overdosing because they'd be in custody. And notwithstanding the Constitutional issues raised by Arrest-As-Punishment (it isn't supposed to be), a realistic fear of being arrested would dramatically reduce Heroin usage amongst those otherwise so inclined.

And notwithstanding the libertarian question of "whose body is it?", possession and/or usage of Heroin is not only a crime, but a far more serious one than underaged possession of beer or drinking one in public -- offenses for which the
APD & UMPD routinely arrests people.

WHY NO ARRESTS??????

Anonymous said...

Ed: delusional much? College kids openly drinking beer/booze while underage compared to heroin use? How many people openly use walking down [enter street name] anywhere in town? Man you are clueless....