TOO MUCH DENIAL, TOO MANY DEATHS

Even one would be too many when it comes to the drug-related deaths of
children and young adults in South Mississippi.

Yet as shown in the first-person article by Fritzi Presley of Long
Beach on today's front page, such fatalities have come with shocking
frequency in her community and others in our part of the state.

At least 11 "lovable, wonderful kids," Presley writes, "... have
fallen through the cracks" and died during the last two years.

Presley's account will hit too, too close to home for some readers.
But it is heartfelt and needs to be taken to heart.

As Presley has learned from her own experience, "You may know your
kid, but you don't know your kid on drugs... two different things."
Learning that difference can make all the difference.

Even the most responsive parents can find themselves in the clutches
of denial. For the sake of their children, and all the children of
their community, they must focus on this problem as never before. The
stakes are that high. As Presley will tell you, it is not easy. But
the choice can be all but unbearable.