Living With Open-Air Drug Markets - Rochester, NY

The problem is especially complex. It includes local problems that are long-standing as well as outside forces since the drugs are brought in from outside and that is where the profits and manipulation are strongest, not the street dealers themselves who are stuck in a bad situation and not realizing there are better options.

Remarkably, many drug dealers are brilliant. They are entrepreneurial, have natural inter-personal skills, and are investing energy and time with the goal of profits. They are street-level business leaders! Problem, of course, is the goal for profits is often to feed their own drug addiction, and their entrepreneurial effort is a dead end!

How can we as a society tap their talents and re-direct them toward longer-term goals, get them help for drug addiction, hone their skills for real careers and real profits both financially and in life?

One effort may be to affect what they see in life. How many folks do they know who invested years and energy for education and training that has landed them jobs and stability? Often, very few. Next is to continue pushing for funding of drug addiction treatment and follow up support, a horribly underfunded societal effort. Third is to support those who are in the area but haven't fallen into the drug world trap -- just living near it is a huge stress, the environment itself is a health risk!

Finally, I caution not to call some "good people" and others "bad people." The "people" may be doing well (not falling into the drug trap), struggling (at risk, or in-and-out of the drug trap), or suffering (fallen in and feeling trapped in drugs). But each group needs some kind of support so they can grow to their potential.