Don't Get UPSET? Multiple Ways to Solve UP Drug Problems

Drugs are a problem in just about every city in America. While we have tried different strategies we can't seem to get out of the drug hole as the poison leaks into the community and destroys futures. According to an article by Public Radio 90's Nicole Walton entitled 'UPSET arrests Delta County man on drug, gun charges', "Detectives seized about 34 grams of suspected crystal meth, a small amount of suspected heroin/fentanyl, more than $3,600 and a loaded handgun that was reported stolen." (Walton, 2021, para 2)

As we think about national policy places like Delta County (DC) offer opportunities to try out ideas when they seem beneficial (It would need a little more  multi-department and community coordination of different institutions.. i.e. courts, police, mental health, social work, government programs, new jobs, community groups, public awareness, etc...). The beauty of DC is that its small and isolated enough to have a better grasp of the factors involved. See Systems Thinking and Small Community-University Collaboration.

1. Strategic Enforcement and Judicial Involvement:  

We will need to get smarter about our long term goals as they relate to communities and drug enforcement. We can't jail our way out of drug use; at least not with users. The users are so beaten and battered in life its little like throwing a blanket over the little light seeping into their world. Better to require rehab and/or counseling in lieu of jail time in most cases (Its not perfect but its more in line with long term solutions and provides the most options. Perhaps science will advance to the point that rehab is more outpatient than anything. Remember its chemical and emotional dependence.)

Strategic supply chain disruption helps slow the spread of drugs (We have to think beyond DC). While local officials look for key indicators/markers of drug activity in their towns and begin investigating there is a much wider supply chain at work outside the U.P.. Disrupting could include international intervention, local first contact with drug users, in and out-state coordination, etc.. Some strategies raise costs on users (to shift toward something healthier with matched services), some are designed to create chaos to disrupt, others are designed to funnel networks into specific arenas that net larger groups. Big data matched with coordinated enforcement along the entire chain can make a big difference. See Big Data, AI, Followership Behaviors , Hidden Network Activity and Signature Base Anomaly Method and See Modern Supply Chains

 An overriding strategy would be helpful to  "touch" various supply chain locations as needed (i.e. disrupting one, taking another chain down completely down, criminal network chaos and monitor, raising the cost in one chain to push coordinated activities down other supply chains where legal traps are waiting, etc...).  We can review other intelligence/analysis methods to clean our society of certain behavior that we agree as a society should not be working in the black market. Sometimes we can crossbreed different fields of study to discover new things. (Its possible to analyze macro and micro networks to determine flow, resources, intention and activities). You can see a published version of something similar  Markov Method for Discovering Nefarious Networks

Perhaps we might want to get tough on big distributors and those who make these drugs. Makes sense to me as these are the most destructive members that prey upon the lives of others. Willful intent to harm others based upon personal gain is anti-social by nature. Smaller criminals are important but they are mixed with other primary needs (i.e. usage and source of income) much more than pure greed and profit (...many petty dealers are selfish but some are just dumb and young and make a few bucks peddling to their friends. Kind of different animals by nature.)

2. Mental Health and Community Engagement: 

People love to judge and few love to understand; Its part of our nature (...remember the whole beam in your own eye and speck in others story?). Drug users have lots of the wrong kinds of friends and not enough of the right kind. Remember there is a real person in there that was dragged into a world many of us will not understand because we do not have a conception of the multiple traumatic factors that get them there. It is possible to move people into a productive life with proper community intervention and mental health (rehab) as long-term strategies.     

I'm not going to quote all the details but in essence it would take a community to connect to users so they can get the help they need (I've seen where mental health help would have provided the best long term solution and we instead inadvertently pushed them down a criminal path. ) It takes a community of happy people who want to see the best outcomes for those suffering. Instead of being fearful someone is coming out of prison we should be happy they are coming out of rehab and engage them to change their friend networks and employment options (Social networks is where people often fail. Lets find them alternatives and be wise about our activities. Lots of great volunteers out there looking to mentor and listen.)

3. Economic Opportunity and Hope:

Things go south when opportunity and hope dry up. Its important for people to feel like they have prospects for the future and with a little effort can change their world. As a community we would want to develop opportunities and reintegrate people back into the working community. While the cluster model I'm working on is focused on business generation/attraction it may also work in part to reintegrating people through business start-ups, apprenticeships, entry level positions, and much more. There are different positions for different skill levels. See Delta County Cluster Model

So many different drug philosophies but most haven't worked well because they are limited in focus and don't seem to understand the wider psycho-socio-economic factors. I'm throwing out a few ideas I came up with thinking about the recent local bust. Congrats for those who did it and hopefully it will put a dent in local drug manufacturing and distribution. Perhaps we can also move toward longer term prevention strategies by employing interested stakeholders and integrating them into a better drug buts, rehab, and reintegration flow. 

If your interested in more information on UPSET and likely where to report tips you might want to contact their webpage. See Upper Peninsula Substance Support Team.

"The Upper Peninsula Substance Enforcement Team (UPSET) is a multi-jurisdictional narcotics task force that serves all fifteen counties of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. UPSET’s foremost objectives are to bring narcotics awareness, education, and enforcement into the communities of the Upper Peninsula.

UPSET readily collaborates and works with local, state, and federal agencies in an effort to combat narcotic use, distribution and sale across the Upper Peninsula."

Walton, N. (July 23, 2021, para 2). UPSET arrests Delta County man on drug, gun charges. Public Radio,  90. https://www.wnmufm.org/post/upset-arrests-delta-county-man-drug-gun-charges#stream/0