EVEN SMALL TOWNS MUST WAGE WAR AGAINST DRUGS

When West Texans read about America's war on drugs, it is sometimes
with the thought that war is being waged somewhere else.

Of course, we all realize that West Texas is often America's port of
entry for illegal drugs, but the idea that these drugs are heading
for our kids is usually of minor concern.

But that landscape is changing rapidly as drugs can be found among
the youth of rural West Texas as easily as they can be found in the
large metropolitan areas. It is a battle West Texans must join and a
battle that must be won.

There was a time when the drug culture was almost exclusively in the
larger cities, but there is now plenty of evidence to suggest that
the drug trade is also targeting the young people of rural areas and
statistics indicate that the level of drug use by rural youth is near
or equal to that of larger cities.

That should be a major cause of concern in our area. Drug dealers
have also spread into the rural market and it is not unusual for law
enforcement officials to arrest drug dealers in places like Crane,
Big Lake, Stanton, Ozona, McCamey, Iraan, Coahoma, Garden City and
Rankin. Most of these small communities are far off the beaten path
of the I-20 corridor, but drug use is on the rise in virtually all of
these rural areas.

When youth begin using drugs, many areas of community and family life
suffer. These quality-of-life issues usually provide the core values
of growing up and living in small towns with small school systems.
Make no mistake -- the introduction of a life on drugs can affect a
community's very spirit.

Communities to our west like Fort Stockton, Pecos, Monahans, Alpine,
Fort Davis, etc., are in the direct drug pipeline of the illegal drug
trade from Mexico. Crystal meth, cocaine, heroin and marijuana are
usually the drugs of choice in this area and alcohol use combined
with drugs is also a major problem.

The youth of West Texas deserve a better life than the one that can
be provided by the drug dealers, who seek to ruin lives for the sake
of making easy money. We should have no patience with drug dealers in
any form whether it is the professional pusher or the smuggler, who
crosses from Mexico into Texas without regard to law or sense of humanity.

These are criminals intent on committing literal murder on our West
Texas streets. It is time to tell them they are not welcome in our
communities or state. This is a far worse problem than the border
threat of terrorism and illegal aliens. If we could halt the drug
trade from Mexico, our borders would probably be safe from the other
threats we face.

Maybe it's time we renew our fight against drugs.