It’s fortunate timing that medical facilities are in the process of expanding in the Minot community, because there are a handful of glaring needs.

Most notable are the needs for more mental health care options and more programs for drug rehabilitation.

Just peruse the crime and court reports and these needs are obvious. For whatever combination of reasons, drug abuse is skyrocketing. As reported in the Minot Daily News, this increase is exponential when it comes to heroin use. The use of methamphetamine seems to be wrapped up in the details of a sizable percentage of crime cases. Addiction to prescription painkillers continues to be a national scourge. It seems only a small percentage of people who find themselves in criminal court don’t have some issue with narcotics.

Minot, like North Dakota overall and the nation in general, invests huge resources in the legal and law enforcement systems because of drug abuse. While efforts at education and prevention are well intended, that doesn’t seem the most effective way to combat the issue. Teenagers are often warned that trying a drug even one time can result in a lifelong addiction, but that is not an effective message. Young people are young people, will test boundaries and will sadly occasionally view this as a challenge more so than a cautionary tale.

Addressing the problem of drug abuse through rehabilitation remains the best option, and the most cost-effective. However, Minot, like many communities, lacks adequate facilities.

Mental health programs, similarly, are inadequate not just here, but in virtually every community in the country. For generations, mental health was something that people did not often speak about, much less address publicly. As we more and more see the relationship between untreated mental health issues and violent crime, it only becomes more clear that this may well become the health crisis of the 21st century.

With such expansion in medical facilities apparently in the pipeline for Minot, this is an excellent opportunity for the community to leap ahead of others and become a leader when it comes to the epidemic of drug abuse and mental illness. It is only humane and, in the long run, will save Minot tremendously in terms of economics and human capital.