SPREADING THE WORD ABOUT DANGEROUS DRUGS

Carol Hudson doesn't blame anyone but her son Anthony for his death.

"He was a loving son and a hard worker but he made mistakes," she said.

Anthony Hudson died on Christmas Day from a drug overdose and now his
parents are a part of Operation Save Teens, a program started by agents
with the Alabama Alcoholic Beverage Control Board to warn kids and parents
about the dangers of drugs and alcohol.

"You are the ones that have your futures in your hands," Hudson told teens
in attendance. "Don't let people convince you these drugs are safe, because
they are not."

Hudson, along with law enforcement agents representing several local and
statewide agencies and other families of drug abuse victims, spoke to youth
and their parents Sunday night at Goodyear Heights Baptist Church as a part
of the Operation Save Teens program.

Operation Save Teens is organized by ABC enforcement officers, families of
drug abuse victims, the Calhoun Cleburne Drug and Violent Crime Task Force
and the Gadsden narcotics unit.

The presentation featured information on current drug trends, including
OxyContin, a prescription painkiller linked to several deaths when abused
and taken incorrectly.

Those in attendance were briefed on other "club" drugs as well including
Ecstasy, GHB, Ketamine and LSD.

"This is floor cleaner and engine degreaser and they drink it," Mike Reese,
an agent with the Alcoholic Beverage Control Board, said of GHB.

Reese also gave a presentation on raves, all-night parties where the use of
"club drugs" are popular.

Communication and parental involvement are the keys local officials believe
will deter teens from using and abusing drugs.

"If love was all it takes, my son would be alive today," Hudson said.

Although she blames Anthony, Hudson said she will never get over the guilt
she feels everyday.

"I feel guilt for what happened and I will feel guilt every day for the
rest of my life," she said.

Hudson encouraged other parents to seek the advice and help of law
enforcement agents if they ever encounter drug problems with their children.

"Parents, we did what we knew to do," she said. "Call these people. They
are telling you the truth. They don't want you to have to go to a grave to
visit your son."

Hudson also urged parents to request school officials to host the Operation
Save Teens programs in their children's schools.

"If they (school officials) don't comply, you demand it," she said. "This
program really works."

She said it is also important to let those teenagers that might already
have problems with drugs know it is never too late to get help.

"My son didn't want to disappoint me. He didn't want to ask me for help,"
she said. "We have to let people that have problems know that we will do
whatever is necessary to get them help."

Reese emphasized the importance of the parent's role in combatting drug
abuse in teens.

"More than anything, it is going to take the parents stepping up," Reese
said. "Parents, if you love them, you better save them."

Vance Patton, an agent with the Alcoholic Beverage Control Board, who works
primarily in Etowah County, said he is not only an agent but a father and
that is what continues to drive him to talk to teens and parents.

"I'm not here because I'm a law enforcement officer. I'm here as a parent,"
Patton said. "Parents, we've got to talk to our kids."

Patton spoke about the dangers of alcohol.

"Alcohol is a drug and it is the No. 1 killer in this nation," he said.

Investigator Jason Murray works as an agent on the Calhoun County Drug Task
Force.

"Parents, I can't emphasize enough how important it is for you to get
involved in your children's lives," Murray said. "Find out who your kids
are with, where they are going and when they will be back.

"And kids, parents only get involved because they love you."

Murray said parental involvement is extremely crucial to fighting drug use
among teens.

"Be involved in your kids' lives because that is what it is going to take
to change things," he said. "Now is the time for you to step up, if not for
yourself but for your kids."