Ron Lewis Quotes

We have lost the War on Drugs. We cannot arrest our way out of it….It’s a public health problem, not a crime problem.

You can't expect law enforcement to provide the solution to the drug problem.

Alcohol and other drug problems are community problems and must be solved by communities in partnership with government.

I can finally go home and tell the constituents, law enforcement, and leaders in Washington state that Congress is treating the meth problem with the same urgency and commitment that local communities have been treating it with for years.

The stated mission at the time was simply to use the influence of the entertainment industry to do an accurate portrayal of drug and alcohol abuse. We all admit that we're not trying to censor anybody.

You can't legislate sobriety.

Drug education is the only vaccine we have against the danger of drug abuse of our children.

We know the war on drugs will not be won in Washington DC When the United States of America decides it wants to do something and the people pull together, amazing things can be done.

We cannot arrest our way out of the drug problem.

For all our policing, we understand that law enforcement is not the solution to the problem of drugs in our society.

The drug problem in this country is a consumption issue.

For 40 years we have been looking for ways to make the existence of the narcotic drug addict just as tough as possible. For 40 years we have asked only what new penalties, what new police tech-niques, might make it easier to catch him and lock him up, whether as an ordinary criminal or, more recently, in connection with some more or less sincere efforts at rehabilitation in confinement. I believe that this entire approach is open to grave question as a practical matter

The war on drugs is very, very real, and the war on helping people with mental illness is very, very real.

If you've never tried drugs, don't. And if you have, pray.

What happened? The Country got sick of it and said, Enough is enough. And all over the Country we saw springing up community organizations determined to do something about this terrible menace of drugs.

Any movement at all that reduces disease, that reduces overdoses, that reduces property crime, that reduces violent crime, is good.

More than 26,000 lives may be lost to the effects of drug abuse this year. This tragic impact is felt in communities across this great nation. Sadly many of these deaths occur among our young people.

It is about time that we develop a worldwide strategy to reduce illegal trade in meth and its precursor chemicals and stop the devastating impact that methamphetamine use is having on our children and our communities.

People who need [drug abuse] treatment have got to get it. You don't have to be a humanitarian to believe addicts need treatment. The public is threatened every time a drug addict is told to come back next week.

If you don't know someone who's had a problem with addiction, you will.

I think that addiction is a very, very important thing that has to be treated, but has to be treated as a health problem and not as a police problem.

We need to make sure parents and coaches are aware of the dangers an on the look-out for the warning signs. Performance enhancing drugs are too damaging to young people for parents and coaches to not be involved.

Herb is the healing of a nation, alcohol is the destruction.

If you want to ask about my drug problem, go ask my big, fat, smart, ten pound daughter, she'll answer any questions you have about it.

I'll say that I don't think you can throw a stone and not come in contact with someone who knows someone or has problems with substance abuse.