WAR ON DRUGS REQUIRES ADDITIONAL REINFORCEMENTS

Our Opinion: Federal, State and Local Governments Need to Redouble Efforts
to Protect Children From Drugs.

Recent news stories are indicators of how pervasive illegal drugs are and
how sick are the people addicted to them.

Last weekend, Porter County police said, a 40-year-old father came home
drunk, got angry because he couldn't find his marijuana, and pointed a gun
at his 14-year-old daughter and her 15-year-old friend.

Then there's the Dyer 9-year-old who took a bag of marijuana to Protsman
Elementary School last month.

And don't forget the quadruple homicide, apparently drug-related, Jan. 16
in Gary that claimed the life of a toddler as well as three others. Police
said crack cocaine was cooking on the stove.

Those are only three examples of not just apparent bad parenting but also
how warped and dangerous illegal drugs can make people.

Adults who expose children to drugs need to be punished not just for having
drugs in the first place but also for providing such an abominable example
to their children.

Anti-drug education has continued for decades, long before Nancy Reagan's
"Just Say No" campaign began. Likewise, law enforcement and eradication
efforts have failed so far to get at the heart of the problem. It just
seems to keep getting worse.

Drugs are a serious threat to the American way of life. Federal, state and
local governments need to redouble efforts to protect children from drugs.

Your opinion, please

What more can the federal, state and local governments do to fight the
problem of illegal drugs?