Dear Editor,

The intent of this letter is to make residents of Boyle County aware of the awesome work that is being done to address substance use disorder, now classified as a disease by DSM5. This disease now has to be broken into two categories — the disease itself and the criminal acts caused by the disease.

Judicial:

a) Family court, Hon. Petrie, is limited to involved individuals attendance and not open to “gallery gawkers” because of the sensitive family relationships. When I am involved in an individual issue, I am permitted and he administers in a compassionate and professional manner.

b) District Court, Hon. Dotson, addresses the issue with an open mind and acknowledgement of the disease and deals wit hthe misdemeanor issues of criminal aspects. He uses jail diversion to IOP program outsourced to Shepherd’s House by district court and Boyle County Detention Center.

c) Circuit Court, Hon. Peckler addresses the more serious felonies caused by the disease and is a more serious issue. Judge Peckler has 160 issues of SUD felonies on his docket May 1. An issue that has brought criticism to his court is his handling of the drug court himself rather than working with state drug court curricula.

The total SUD umbrella is coordinated by Boyle ASAP Inc., with Kathy Miles, along with fiscal court, churches, professionals, law enforcement, incarceration, state programs all too numerous to list.

DSM5 has opened the “flood gates” of $$$ flow by bringing on five years of MAT (Suboxone) maintenance, vocational action treatment creating $$$ flow by use of participants as “slave labor,” and holistic transcendental meditation by worshipping of “precious stones.”

There are pre, present and after-care issues that are destroying the fabric of America.

H.M. Rat Durham

Parksville