A drug-related death has devastated the family of Carmel City Councilor Ron Carter once again.
Carter, whose granddaughter died during a drug deal gone wrong in early 2017, missed the Nov. 5 city council meeting to attend a visitation service in Louisville for the grandson of his wife’s cousin. During the meeting, council President Kevin “Woody” Rider read a letter from Carter explaining his absence.
“Drugs have caused another unspeakable tragedy,” the letter states.
The 18-year-old relative committed suicide soon after his drug-addicted girlfriend overdosed and died in their apartment, the letter states. The man, who also suffered from drug addiction, had parents who had both been addicted to drugs, it states, and his father was unable to attend his son’s funeral because he was in critical condition in the hospital after contracting a bacterial infection from using dirty needles.
“I am appalled that we have not been able to stem the tide of this tragedy, heartache and grief that has visited so many families within our nation,” Carter wrote. “I am distressed that as we conclude this campaign season I have heard no candidate for federal or state office put anything forward for what they would support to stem the tide.”
He also spoke out about the dangers of marijuana.
“I know that the father, the mother, (the son in Louisville) and my own granddaughter here in Indianapolis all began on this deadly path by using marijuana. It was their first drug encounter,” the letter states. “That is something to contemplate as we listen to more and more people tell us that the legalization of marijuana will not be harmful to our world as we know it today.”
Carter also stated in the letter that he prides himself on rarely missing meetings and that he was prepared to vote in favor of the council’s redistricting plan, which the council later approved by a 5-1 vote.
