Tonight I attended a forum on drugs held at the Panther Valley High School. Congressman Matt Cartwright and his Republican opponent, a staff member from Congressman Lou Barletta’s office and his Democratic opponent, and three candidates for the Pennsylvania House of Representatives–Democrat Neil Makhija, Libertarian Matt Schutter, and Republican Doyle Heffley–attended.
The staffer from Barletta’s office brought up Barletta’s “efforts” to seal the border with Mexico to prevent the importation of heroin, ignoring the fact that meth can be cooked in people’s kitchens and the fact that as long as the demand is there, people will get heroin. Lou Barletta sings in one note, and it is off-key.
Heffley was his usual self, contorting himself to pat himself on the back for his bill to “combat addiction,” written by big pharma, since it involves selling “non-addictive” drugs at four to five times the cost. Neil Makhija pointed out that similar bills had been vetoed in New Jersey, New York, and Maine as being ineffective. Makhija also noted that Heffley had voted against the medical marijuana bill, denying cancer patients a treatment that would be to their benefit.
Someday Heffley may actually put the interests of his constituents before those of his party and his campaign contributors, but don’t hold your breath.
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