Drug cartels are the cause of Brattleboro’s c…

BRATTLEBORO-I would like to commend everyone who attended the recent Selectboard meetings to address the situation in downtown Brattleboro.

And kudos to Susan Bellville for pointing out that Brattleboro cannot emerge from an increasingly desperate situation by simply addressing the symptoms of a growing crime and addiction crisis in our community. Nor will blaming government officials, our police force, or society as a whole stop this rising tide.

As with any problem, a solution must address the root cause.

It is clear that at the root of the crisis in Brattleboro is illegal, highly addictive drugs and the evil career criminals – drug dealers – who mercilessly victimize vulnerable people of all ages, eroding already vulnerable lives to systematically create a hostage population of hopeless and traumatized addicts in our community, all for their own gain.

In this scenario, there are only victims – both the addicts and the community as a whole – as long as the former victors, the drug dealers and their criminal networks, are still at large.

We ignore this merciless crime against humanity taking place in our midst at our own peril.

The drug cartels at the heart of the Brattleboro crisis are not a local problem. They are an interstate crime wave that will require sustained intervention by state and federal authorities to eradicate the roots of this vicious plague of addiction in our community.

Mr. Smit

Brattleboro

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