PROBLEM GOES DEEPER THAN DRUG ADDICTION

"Losing Jacque" (Page One, Dec. 7) is an engrossing story of the
dangerous consequences of methamphetamine. The lives of those making,
using or selling meth were destroyed, along with those of some
innocent victims.

While reading about the many personal tragedies, it occurred to me
that meth was the symptom of a more fundamental issue -- teenage
pregnancy. Children raising children, fathered by irresponsible males,
continue a chain of desperation. The economic limitations, poor
education, child molestation, drug abuse and wide variety of other
crimes affecting the people in this story are symptoms of a deeper
problem.

Children raised by mature adults have tremendously better odds of a
bright future.

L. E. McHugh

Marietta