A FAMILY FIGHTS WAR ON DRUGS

The son she bore had erred once again, tossing the family into
a judicial arena that is known best by legal professionals and law
enforcement. His crime involved drugs.

Drugs not only affect the addict, they also wreak havoc on the family.
That message resounded with me earlier this week as a reader reached
out for help from a person she knew only from a newspaper column.

Throughout the years, she has written me and on some occasions called.
She can be described as a godly woman who cares about people and what
is happening in her community. Often, she agrees with me, but there
are times she feels my stances on issues are totally off base. At any
rate, we respect each other's opinions.

But on this day, her message

seemed different, somewhat urgent in nature and passed along in a
manner that only a mother could understand. The son she bore had erred
once again, tossing the family into a judicial arena that is known
best by legal professionals and law enforcement. His crime involved
drugs.

One of the first things she said was, "I know he has done wrong and
must pay for it." But it was obvious that she had not closed the door
on this offspring. She had helped him in the past, and judging from
the sound of her motherly voice, help would be extended once again.

After discussing the location of court hearings, she proceeded to tell
me about the chaos of drugs in her family. As she talked, I thought
about other families and communities who are held at bay because of
the ugliness of drugs.

Stolen dollars, earmarked for something useful, are taken by an addict
who cares more about the short-lived feeling of drugs than about
family finances. Families lose the trusting freedom of their
households. They must guard everything of value, for fear the addict
will sell it for pen nies. Not to mention mothers and fathers who
painfully watch their offspring turn into something that is so
distanced from his or her upbringing.

Nothing is sadder than seeing a family or a community contend with a
drug-crazed relative or member of that community.

While in Chicago a few years ago, I saw the elderly people of a
community confined to their apartments, communicating via telephone or
yelling out windows because they were fearful about coming outside.
The area was wracked by crime, due in part to drugs and the activities
as sociated with drugs.

Very few of the elderly ventured outside because they were fearful of
the drug element. It was during that time that I realized that this
was not only a war on drugs in our community, but also in our families.

Families are on the front line of this war. Though they have not done
anything wrong, the sins of their drug-addicted family members force
them into a war that sometimes seems doomed.

The reader who called me said, "He was not raised that way." She's
right. No one forces an addiction upon any one. It is an illness for
which there are not enough dolllars and facilities to treat those who
want to stop the madness.

The plague of drugs crosses all races and socio-economic levels.
Families are on the front line of this war, and as painful as it might
be, they must fight to restore sanity back into the family. As is the
case with my caller, it has to start with being honest and recognizing
the signs.

Barbara Drummond is the public affairs director for Mobile County and
a former Mobile Register reporter. This column contains her personal
viewpoints and does not reflect the opinion of county officials.