The US lost the war on drugs. It lost the war on poverty. It lost the fight for better education. It is losing the battles about immigration, refugees, and asylum seekers. (It also lost the wars in Vietnam, Iraq, and Afghanistan).

This is happening because, as H.L. Mencken said a long time ago, and I paraphrase: “For every complex problem there is a simple solution, that is always wrong.

To solve these intersectional difficulties takes a comprehensive strategy, time, and basically, a real concern for people; not numbers, not the money, not the political outcome. A great deal of addiction is an interpersonal problem. Not all. It’s very complex.