...STOP DRUG AVALANCHE

Misery Knows No Limits.

A new avalanche of cocaine from Latin America would compound immeasurably
Central Florida's illegal drug problem.

For the past several years, law-enforcement officers in this region have
wrestled with a resurgence in heroin use that has claimed the lives of 20
people so far this year in Orange and Osceola counties. But now a new
menace -- designer club drugs -- seems to be gaining ground.

What makes the designer drugs so insidious is that those who peddle that
poison tell young people that those substances -- many of which are
smuggled into Florida from Europe -- are harmless.

But, as illustrated at congressional hearings conducted Thursday in
Orlando, the drug dealers' lies are claiming lives.

The danger of the club drugs, which sometimes are taken with alcohol and
other illegal drugs, deserve more attention from law enforcement, young
people and parents.

And getting more information is the first line of defense. A quick primer
on the dangers of designer drugs is available at www.drugfreeamerica.org,
the Partnership for a Drug-Free America's Internet site.

The public must stay alert to fend off each new trend in illicit drugs.