DILIGENCE NEEDED

Drugs are wreaking havoc on our society. Families are being destroyed,
crime is on the rise and more and more teens are trying alcohol or
some form of illicit drug at an earlier age.

It's not meant to be a gloom and doom statement, only a fact that we
need to wrap our minds around, opening our eyes to the realities of
the world we live in and hopefully forcing us to realize the need to
take action. Now.

Take a look at our newspaper, or any other newspaper in the state, and
you will find within its pages dozens upon dozens of crimes and
arrests that can be tied, directly or indirectly, to drug abuse.

Just last week in neighboring Duplin County, two illegal immigrants
were taken into custody for allegedly trying to transport two
kilograms to an unknown destination, likely to be packaged and
distributed to someone you know or are close to.

It would be one thing if this were an isolated incident. It is not.
Meth is manufactured, cocaine is sold, marijuana is smoked and heroin
is used right in our midst, brought to our neighbors, friends and
family by an assortment of dealers who ply a trade that doesn't seem
to be waning.

Take a look at nationwide statistics, provided through a 2004
"Monitoring the Future Study," to get the picture:

110 million Americans, or 46 percent of the population, age 12 or
older say they have tried illicit drugs at least once in their lifetime;

15% reported using illicit drugs at least once in the last
year;

8 % reported use of illicit drugs in the last month;

Many, according to the study, are full-time employees, and 1.6 million
of those said they used both alcohol and drugs at some point in their
lives.

What does it all mean? For most of us, it means paying better
attention to our children, educating them as early as possible to the
hazards of drug and alcohol abuse and trying to stop the abuse before
it occurs.

It also means taking a proactive approach within our communities.

Burying our heads and the sand and pretending this isn't a problem
helps no one. Understanding the problem and figuring out the best way
to tackle that problem can, and will make a difference.

While it is unrealistic to believe that we will ever wipe out drug
use, and therefore drug crime, it is possible to get a better handle
on it.

For one thing, we need to apply whatever pressure is needed to ensure
that stricter laws are in place to stop illegal immigrants from
flowing into this country. It is clear many of those who cross into
our country come with an intent to traffic in illegal drugs.

For another, we need to make sure those involved with the sell of
illegal drugs are made to pay for the crimes they committed.

And, for those who are drug abusers, we need to find them real help.
Denying they have a problem, and allowing them to do the same, does
nothing to help their problem or the growing problem within our
communities.

Accepting the problem and dealing with it, head on, is a must.

It starts within each of us. If we are ever going to stop this menace
to our communities we must work together, we must be determined and we
must be diligent.