LEAD THE FIGHT, SIR

Carlsbad leaders gave U.S. Representative Steve Pearce the message
loud and clear Monday: the most frustrating component of
methamphetamine abuse is lack of treatment.

Rep. Pearce started his community tour of hearing on meth issues in
New Mexico in Carlsbad this week, and expressed his surprised at how
forward thinking this community is in addressing the issue.

From judges to law enforcement officers, the message was clear: meth
abusers need a different kind and different length of treatment than
any other kind of drug abuser.

Meth users are not few and far between. Woods Houghton, a local
champion in the fight against drugs, said he couldn't think of anyone
whose life hasn't been touched by meth. Incoming Judge Dick Van Dyk
said the physical changes on the body from meth use are not only
horrific; it brings about a whole separate issue of health care for
meth users. Educators and social workers also spoke about meth's long
tentacles of destruction that disable families and destroys a child's
ability to learn, grow and flourish.

Good for Rep. Pearce for taking this initiative. Please take these
messages back to Washington:

Of all the things government spends money on, it's time to invest in
meth treatment for the long term. Create programs where meth abusers
spend not just six weeks or six months and then get back out and use
- -- create programs that work by taking as long as it takes. Use the
government's vast resources in research and implementation that
creates a program that is effective.

Use whatever "government pull" available to get health insurance
providers on board with the need for long-term treatment. While this
may seem like a tall order, treating meth addiction is uncharted territory.

Fund the drug court system so the users can answer to the law in a
timely manner. These people need to be off the street, not recruiting
others to a life of meth addiction.

Recognize that border states have a severe meth trafficking issue.
The methamphetamine manufactured in Mexico is so pure it only takes
one use to become an addict for life. Southern border states are
finding that their meth issues are not so much in the manufacturing
of it as the trafficking and sales of such potent drugs. Fund the war
on meth as its own crime.

That's a tall order for Rep. Pearce, but it's an order that needs to
be placed. Go back to the capitol and fight for New Mexico to lead
the way in meth treatment and the war on this particular drug.

When it comes time to testify to the ravages of this war, Rep.
Pearce, you constituents at home have dozens of horror stories to
share that could one day bring about the public good.