EDITORIAL - Misleading labels

Two more barangays in Cebu City -- Sinsin and Sapangdaku -- have been declared drug-cleared or drug-free.

Along with barangays Sto. Niño and Sudlon 1, police say four barangays have been cleared of drugs out of the city’s 80 barangays.

However, Police Lt. Col. Wilbert Parilla, deputy city director for operations of the Cebu City Police Office, said work will not stop there.

“Continue gihapon ang monitoring, mao na ang atoang project nga once ma-declare nga drug-free, kinahanglan ma-sustain,” he was quoted as saying in a report in this newspaper.

This definitely sounds like good news, but perhaps we should be more careful before labeling a certain area drug-free or drug-cleared.

The people and police have different views on an area being free or cleared of drugs.

When ordinary people are told an area has been cleared of drugs, the immediate perception is that no one is using drugs there anymore, or that area has no more drug users.

When police say a barangay is drug-free or drug-cleared, they mean that no drug personality has been spotted there for a specified period of time. It doesn’t necessarily mean people in the barangay have stopped using drugs.

Of course, since police cannot know what goes on behind all closed doors, or everything people do in all their waking hours, they cannot make the claim that drugs are no longer being used in the area.

While they can make the claim that drugs are no longer being peddled in the area, as can be concluded by the absence of drug personalities, it can also be that people there are now sourcing their drugs from somewhere else.

So calling an area drug-free or drug-cleared might be confusing for some. It might even have the tendency to lull some people into a false sense of security.

Perhaps the label “drug-free” or “drug-cleared” should be replaced with something like “under control” or “minimal” or something to that effect. After all, a society totally free of drugs isn’t really a reality, because there will always be desperate people who want to make quick money selling whatever they can, and there will always be people addicted to the cheap thrill of a drug high.

This is not to belittle the efforts of our policemen. We know they are working hard to fight the drug menace. But perhaps some labels should be corrected to clear up any confusion or cause complacency.