End It For Good

Christina Dent pt 1

We are well aware that drug addictions are, basically, a pandemic in our society today. It is not only a problem in major metropolitan cities, but it literally crosses all social and economic boundary’s. I know. I was addicted to pain killers a few back after almost 7 years of use.  My father had a drug problem. One of my brothers as well. As a police officer, I also arrested my share of people that was found to be in possession of drugs. Drugs of various kinds. I also have seen that a policy of “lock them up” does not mean they are able to get “cleaned up.” Many times, these things are still available IN the prison system. Many times, these people get released and go right back to what they’ve always known. The same neighborhoods and friends and environment. There has been rehabilitation offered, or at least no rehabilitation that really made a difference. My guest today in Christina Dent, the founder and president of “End It For Good,” a 501-c-3 non-profit formed in 2019.  Christina Dent is a politically conservative Christian, who supported criminalizing drugs, until she became a foster parent and saw up close the negative effects the current system was perpetuating on those who needed the most help. She researched why drug-related harm was not decreasing and she became convinced it was because the criminal justice system is simply the wrong tool to be used for addressing the drug problem. In 2017, she began hosting book discussions in her home state of Mississippi, using Johann Hari’s book “Chasing The Scream: The First and Last Days of the War on Drugs.” Those discussions grew into events with hundreds of people attending, which led to “End It For Good” being formed, which is now an education and advocacy organization that provides citizens with opportunities to learn about the root causes of drug harms like crime, addiction, and overdose deaths, and consider alternatives to the punitive approach we've used for decades. Christina is a writer, TEDx speaker, and perpetual question asker. She grew up in a conservative, Christian home and earned a degree in Biblical Studies with an emphasis in Christian Ministry from Belhaven University. Help me welcome to the program, Christina Dent. Christina, thank you for taking the time to come on our program today. I do appreciate it. First question. Other than that brief information I just provided, can you tell us in your own words, “Who is Christina Dent?” Let’s back up. Prior to 2014, you had a certain view of how the world worked and some preconceived ideas of what was needed to fix the drug problem in America. Can you share that Christina Dent back then, what she saw and how she viewed the role of the criminal justice system at that time? And then, in 2014, what happened to begin to change your perspective on things?" Your TEDx talk was awesome. I’ll be putting a link to it down below in the show notes so our listeners can access it. You hit on some very dramatic points. I loved how you did the comparison of the war on drugs with prohibition in this nation back in the early 1900’s.  Can you briefly go over that for our listeners? You discussed how people, for lack of a better term, smuggle alcohol into sporting events. I never thought of that in the terms you shared in your TEDx talk. Can you share how that analogy also relates to the drug problem we are seeing on our streets today? You also referenced what the nation of Portugal did in their “war on drugs.” But they went about winning their war in a very different way than we have in the United States – and achieved a very different outcome. Tell us about that Folks, the war on drugs was a good idea, just implemented in the wrong way. As Christina Dent has shared with us, we have fostered an environment that simply intensifies the dependency; intensifies the addictions and intensifies the mindset that it all must remain hidden. Go down into the show notes and click the link right there to get in touch with Christina Dent and her organization, “End It For Good.”  Offer support. Click the DONATE TAB on her website and send along some love through your financial giving. There is no amount that is too small. If every listener would send along $5 or $10 – together, it would make a HUGE, HUGE difference in how much help she would be able to provide.

CONTACT INFORMATION:

Email:  christina@enditforgood.com Website:  https://www.enditforgood.com/ DONATE NOW:  https://www.enditforgood.com/donate

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