STRAIGHT TALK ON DRUG ABUSE

Population growth has brought many changes to the Central Coast, and
some of those changes are unwelcome. That is especially true with
regard to substance abuse.

Police in Santa Maria and Lompoc report a disturbing rise in
drug-related crimes. In Santa Maria, drug arrests have more than
doubled in the past five years, and more than quadrupled since 1995.
Police made 991 narcotics busts in 2001, and 1,960 last year.

Although Lompoc's arrest numbers have remained more constant, police
say the majority of the city's crime is connected to drug and alcohol
abuse.

Why such a dramatic increase? There are two main answers to that
question, one good and one bad.

The good answer is that police are now far better trained in
techniques to detect substance-abuse problems, and to thus make the arrest.

The not-so-good answer is that the use of methamphetamine has
skyrocketed in recent years, and it is now the drug of choice for a
wide range of people.

In Lompoc, the death of infant twins who were suffocated when their
father rolled atop them in January after a meth binge, brought the
consequences of drug abuse clearly into focus. Police say about 80
percent of all drug arrests involve the use, transportation, sale or
manufacture of meth. Meth arrests far outnumber those for marijuana,
heroin and cocaine.

Meth's rise in popularity shouldn't surprise anyone. The drug is
relatively easy to make - you can buy the ingredients at the corner
drug store or at major chair stores - so the price is right for
users, who also report that the meth "high" is strong and
long-lasting. What they generally won't tell you is the extremely
addictive nature of the drug, or the way its use drags a person down
into a personal hell that destroys the lives of users and those around them.

And therein lies at least a partial solution to the Central Coast's
growing drug problem - educating potential users, which by almost any
standard usually is the younger generation. If a teen can see,
first-hand, the physical, mental and emotional baggage t! hat come s
with an addiction, there's a good chance that kid will steer a wide,
safe course around the drug.

Substance abuse is a difficult subject to bring up around the dinner
table or during your favorite TV shows in the evening. It makes a lot
of parents and their children squirm in discomfort. But any aversion
to meeting this issue head-on must be overcome.

Talk to your kids about drug use. If you can, show them photos of a
ravaged junkie, and explain what kind of damage occurs. If every
family did that, our guess is that drug arrests would fall.