Root causes of opioid crisis must be addressed

I see recent articles in The Herald discuss our continuing efforts to counter the opioid crisis as well as a proposal to increase the size of our law and justice system to cope with the rising numbers of people entering our law, justice and corrections continuum.

Might it not be the propitious moment to actually take a hard look at the root causes of these issues and attempt to rectify them prior to continuing to spend our tax dollars on the effects of not having addressed these causes? Aren’t the numbers going to continue to rise if nothing is done to address the causes?

Jim Bloss

Monroe