POSSIBLE ALLY EMERGES IN DRUG WAR

There's good news on the drug front and reason for concern.

Drug use among students in grades 8, 10 and 12 nationwide did not increase
from 1999 to 2000, and in some cases decreased.

Fewer high school seniors used cocaine or crack in 2000 compared with 1999,
the first decrease among that age group since the early 1990s.

While drug use among high schoolers is worrisome enough, there are warning
signs within the information released from the National Institute on Drug
Abuse, a research branch of the federal government's National Institutes of
Health.

Fewer high school sophomores nationwide are fearful of cocaine and its
effects, showing a drop in their perceived risk of harm from the narcotic.
Hence a greater chance that they'll try the drug.

Perhaps parents can begin convincing their children about the perils of
drug use by retelling the story of Brian Eftenoff.

The man lived in Ahwatukee Foothills with a beautiful wife and two lovely
children. He worked, he played and, from all appearances, he seemed
genuinely happy.

But there was another part of his life that not everyone knew about, a part
that eventually destroyed his life in a horrible fashion.

At age 41, Eftenoff was found guilty of killing his wife.

On the night she died, the husband fought with his wife over using the
family ATM card. As prosecuting attorney Kurt Altman told the jury, the man
wanted money for a night of gambling, but household finances were tight and
the young mother didn't agree.

The fight escalated. One can only imagine what happened. It ended with Judi
Eftenoff lying on the floor of her master bedroom bathroom, a blow to the
head and a lump of cocaine shoved in her throat.

Prosecutors said Eftenoff forced the cocaine into his wife's mouth to
destroy any credibility she might have if she called the police to report
domestic violence.

Soon, another chapter in the story will be written. It will explain how
Eftenoff stood before a judge for sentencing. Considering the guilty
verdict for a separate charge of transporting a narcotic, coupled with
previous felony convictions in California, it's possible that the
41-year-old man would be in prison until age 97.

A wasted life, for sure.

Eftenoff admitted to using drugs, he even borrowed a familiar phrase from a
beer commercial when he testified that people should do drugs "responsibly."

"No one should do drugs, but if you do drugs, doing them in a responsible
way was the only way," he said.

A deluded life, for sure.

It's seems foolish to think that drugs will one day be eradicated from
America, but it's not foolish to tell children about how it can ruin their
lives. Perhaps, Brian Eftenoff can help after all.