BORDER CONFERENCE: CONCLUSIONS FAMILIAR; ACTION NEEDED

Anything sound familiar here? Earlier this week, Texas-New Mexico
border experts came to the conclusion that border-area residents are
more susceptible to dangers of the illicit drug trade because of such
factors as poverty, little access to drug-treatment centers, lack of
education and being close to drug stashes.

The symposium was held at the State Department of Health Services and
was hosted by the Drug Demand Reduction Advisory Committee.

With all due respect to symposium participants and their very real
concerns, these are the kinds of things we've been hearing for years.
It seems that every time there's a meeting, the same or similar
conclusions are reached.

And the same or similar recommendations are made -- establish more
drug-treatment centers, employ young people so they won't get into
trouble, educate people about drugs, teach people how to recognize
stash houses.

The conclusions are not wrong. The recommendations are reasonable.
But conclusions and recommendations are a long way from doing
something concrete to address drug-related risks along the border.

One big problem, especially now, is how to fund initiatives to help
steer young people away from drugs and drug-related violence. For
example, it seems that if money can be found to pork up our federal
lawmakers' resumes -- and that never seems to be a problem -- money
could be found to address border drug issues. And that's just one
possible source.

If the state thinks the drug problem is serious along the border,
well, perhaps state officials could cut loose with a few bucks to do
something substantive, to flesh out valuable recommendations rather
than leave them gathering dust on the shelves.

It's also a question of how much we value our young people. Can we
put a price on keeping our youths away from drugs and violence? If we
really believe that our young people are the future of Texas, we
should do all in our power to protect them.

Conferences are fine, but the conclusions must be acted upon by
local, state and federal officials. Most everyone along the border is
affected, but as attendees at this week's meeting pointed out, young
people are especially vulnerable. Bringing recommendations to reality
would be useful in protecting