Who is Chris Christie?

In May 2015, NPR’s 5 things you need to know article, about him listed the following:

Christie has already been president—class president.

His wife gave up a top Wall Street job ahead of his 2016 bid

Christie underwent lap-band weight loss surgery in 2013

Christie was a George W. Bush “Pioneer”

He’s been to more that 130 Bruce Springsteen concerts.

I do not like Chris Christie, it bothers me among other things the way he bullies people. Whether it is someone who lives in New Jersey or a member of the press questioning him, he is loud and nasty in his responses.

He has had several problems,  up to and including “Bridgegate”.

As a candidate for President his poll numbers are abysmal. He is usually around 3%.

I shudder when I think of him in the White House and then I remember, it is not going to happen.

My other “Who is” columns have focused on the candidates platforms, but in the case of the Governor, I am focusing on his attitude towards addiction. 

He became Governor of New Jersey in 2002. I have never had a favorable opinion of him until last night.  What changed? Listening to the video below.

He speaks of his mother’s efforts to stop smoking. Yes, cigarettes are addicting, and until quite recently insurance companies did not cover smoking cessation medications.

I was especially impressed when he made a very ‘liberal’ sounding comment, pro-life members of his party need to extend their interest in life past the birth of the child.

In 1971, President Nixon declared a ‘War on Drugs”.  The only part of his press conference which has been vigorously enforced in certain areas of the country for the past 40 plus years has been the punishment, which according to estimates by the Drug Policy Alliance has cost the country over $51 billion, yes billion with a B per year.

In his 1971 press conference, the President asked for resources to ‘prevent new addicts and rehab those who were already addicted’.  Those 2 were lost in the War on Drugs, which was vigorously fought by DEA.

100s of 1000s of minority families have been ripped apart by the incarcerations, and the box* on the applications, but not many have been helped by the prevention.

*Do you have a criminal record?

Now, the drug epidemic as a result of the war on drugs being lost in the 1970s has moved into the suburbs and into middle and upper class America. 

This article entitled “In heroin crisis, white families seek gentler war on drugs” published recently in the New York Times speaks to the need for change. Thousands of lives, would have been saved if the new policies and attitude of drug abuse is a disease, had been in place when the epidemic was only in black and brown neighborhoods.

Christie will not be our next President, but perhaps he will stay on the national stage long enough for his message about addiction to be heard next to President Obama’s on incarceration.