WRECKED LIVES SHOW TRAGEDY OF OUR INEFFECTIVE 'DRUG WAR'

We've all heard of the war against drugs, but all I have seen is the toll
from the destruction caused by the enemy. The broken families, the broken
lives glare out as statistics from the "battle."

The victims, once addicted, just as predictably as being zipped inside a
body bag, has ended their lives. But the grief of their loved ones has just
started.

Any survivors wait for the slow healing process to begin. We have to sit by
helplessly as we watch our loved ones put a loaded gun to their own head
and pull the trigger. All we can do is wait to hear a click or a blast.

We see the shell of the person that "used to be." We cry, we beg, we
threaten, we pray and pray and pray - and sometimes we just walk out.

The only battle I see being fought is the inner battle fought by the loved
ones of the users. We ask ourselves the million "whys."

I wonder when the battle will end, although I am afraid I already know how
it will end.

I see how the battle ends in the hollow-eyed shell of my loved one. I see
how the enemy attacks emotionally, financially, physically and mentally -
an insidious killer. I see the painfully slow death of the love, of the
trust, of life, of what could have been. I see an enemy so horrendous that
even death looses its terrible sting and life itself becomes agony.

It is called a "war against drugs" but where are the battle lines drawn?
Even if a battle is lost for the dealer, how many more fresh recruits are
ready to step in and take up where the last left off?

And when the life of the user is totally destroyed, the drug dealer simply
moves on to the next victim. The new victims, oblivious to the imminent
destruction, happily go to the next party and the next high without any
fear or trepidation.

When will it end? How many of our children, friends, spouses, etc. we will
hand over?! How many loved ones must we lose before there is truly a war
against drugs?

I have lost one too many loved ones as victims. I stand bewildered and
confused as to what can be done to turn this "war" around. I worry that I
can do nothing - and I don't believe that this is the way this specific war
should end.

JoLeigh Bartlett is a resident of Macon.