FIGHTING DRUGS AND ADDICTION

This column is about a very serious matter -- drugs and addiction.

You probably read on a fairly consistent basis in this paper and other
area news outlets about the people who are busted for drugs.

It happens all the time. Almost every day. Sometimes, many times in a
single day.

The 22rd Judicial Drug Task Force, based in Covington County, makes
more meth busts than any other circuit in the state of Alabama. In
fact, the local DTF makes more meth-related arrests than Okaloosa
County, Fla., a county with six times the population of Covington.

If you're reading this, chances are you're not high on meth right
now.

If you've never tried it, don't.

In a long interview with area DTF Commander Paul Dean late this week,
he explained to me some of the dangers of meth. The dangerous drug --
basically a mix of pseudo ephedrine, Drano, other household cleaning
supplies, baking soda and additional ingredients -- literally eats
away your liver, your kidneys, your heart, your lungs, and finally,
your brain. The DTF commander has seen autopsies of deceased, longtime
meth addicts whose brains were missing tissue larger than the size of
a softball.

Even though this county is inundated with meth, drugs, of course, come
in many forms. There's marijuana (what law enforcement officials call
a "gateway" drug). Then, powder cocaine and crack. Of course,
prescription pills. Those four drug categories are the most prominent
in Covington and surrounding counties.

Heroine, PCP, LSD, club drugs and others are out there, for sure, but
not so much as the aforementioned.

Dean, a nice gentleman with two small children, knows it's not his job
to pass judgment on those people he arrests for meth and other drugs.

It's certainly not my job or premise to pass judgment on anyone. I
never have and never will be perfect. Far from it.

Dean's job, and that of his fellow DTF agents, is to get the people
charged with making, selling and consuming the dope off the streets.
While his compassion for those he arrests is sometimes very apparent,
his responsibility stops there -- with the busts, the arrests.

By all standards, Dean and other officials at the DTF are doing a
great job.

After all is said and done from that angle -- once the drug offenders
are jailed, charges posted, a court date is set and a judge makes a
sentence -- all is really not said and done.

What we all need to realize is that there are real people, real faces
behind the meth stories, behind the drug stories.

People from all walks of life. Someone's mother. Someone's son.
Someone's best friend. Maybe someone who used to be a very active
member of the community.

Addictions begin for a variety of reasons -- a variety greater than
the variety of dope available on the streets.

A teenager, under pressure from his peers, could smoke a "rock" of
crack because he wants to impress his friends. If he's from a wealthy
family or has the money, he might sniff a line of the purer, more
expensive form. Though it might be wrong, a continual cycle could
begin right there. I've heard addicts say that, once you get that
initial high, your body craves the feeling and it seems to become a
physical and psychological need.

I've heard the same about meth and other drugs.

An addiction could stem from an emotional problem. A troubled marriage
or relationship, problems at the office, financial trouble -- a person
who's feeling helpless and wanting it all to go away, wanting to feel
no more pain, only to be numb. (That could be the case with alcohol as
well, though that "drug" hasn't been mentioned earlier.)

What I am proposing is not that users or dealers get off lightly and
continue the cycle. Law enforcement officials around here will tell
you that the majority of people incarcerated are in jail or prison
because of drugs, either for a direct drug charge or something related
to it -- burglary, theft, etc.

Even though many users are hardened addicts, I think there does need
to be a sense of compassion.

Never say that these people will "never" change. As long as they're
living and breathing, they deserve a chance to make their lives better
and in turn, contribute something to the community, to their families,
their children, themselves.

If ordered by a court to spend time in drug rehab, the closest
facility a local addict is sent to is located in Enterprise.

I would propose a structured, local counseling center where a person
could sit down and talk about his problem without shame or fear. If
there is such a program, please call the newspaper office and let me
know.

Above all else, I would propose that we not pass judgment on those
people who are struggling with drug addictions.

Let the law enforcement deal with busting them, arresting
them.

As a community, I believe we should find a way of reaching out to
those who are suffering with addictions. Of course, it'll only work if
they really, really want to change. In the most optimistic core of my
heart -- deep down, I truly believe most of them do.