Why does anyone decide to traffic in drugs? The only reason that makes sense is money †either to support one's own crippling drug habit, or simply for the money. Supporting one's out-of-control addiction isn't pretty, but at least its understandable: But there's no excuse for the despicable crime of contributing to new addictions, from which recovery, if it happens at all, too often depends on someone helping you find your life again through a drug rehab program.



Most addicts are long past the ethical considerations of selling drugs. Their lives are ruled by the moment-to-moment struggle for survival. They live in a drugged world, and nothing else matters but feeding the monster called addiction. In some circles they're considered victims, not criminals, people who need medical care and drug rehab to salvage their lives.

On the other hand, drug traffickers with no motivation other than greed are in another category altogether. This is a world where ethical considerations are utterly corrupted. It's impossible in this day and age for anyone to be ignorant of the effects that drugs are having on individuals, and as a result, on our society.

So what can we say about a drug rehab worker, intimately involved in the daily struggle to help salvage the lives of drug addicts, who decides to go out and traffic in drugs? As the old saying goes, it boggles the mind. And Keith Barkdull of Anderson, IN, is apparently just such a person. Barkdull is the director of drug rehab at Stepping Stones for Veterans, a center for homeless and chemically-dependent veterans who need transitional housing and alcohol and drug rehab services. And Barkdull was arrested by Indiana State Police this week with 90 pounds of marijuana, charged with possession and trafficking, and locked up in jail. According to police, Barkdull has prior arrests for narcotics, but it wasn't revealed whether they were for possession and personal use, or for trafficking. Either way, you have to wonder how he managed to live this double life.

Investigators think the 90 pounds of marijuana allegedly found in Barkdull's possession came from Mexico through Texas to Indiana, and believe at least some of it was destined for the Indianapolis area. They said the marijuana was worth $45,000 but would sell for a lot more on the street. A local news reporter asked the cops if Barkdull was a "big marijuana dealer," to which the trooper replied, "Probably one of several, and we'll get each one as best we can."

Stepping Stones for Veterans was founded and is still run by Keith Barkdull's father Harold Barkdull. It is a not-for-profit organization that provides a variety of transitional housing options to homeless and/or chemically dependent veterans. Among the center's services is assistance in returning to substance-free lives by providing faith-based alcohol and drug rehab and education programs.

It isn't known whether Barkdull the younger will get his job back at his father's facility, but his job was helping veterans fight addiction. Now he'll be fighting two felony charges for possessing and selling marijuana. And if he's like most drug traffickers, he may be a habitual user and will need his father's services himself. A successful drug rehab program could help him, but whose going to help the people who were going to buy the rest of the drugs he had?