DRUG CZAR'S AIM: EDUCATE KIDS

Melton Says Most Youths Try To Do Right Thing

Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics Director Frank Melton said during appearances
in McComb on Wednesday that 97 percent of the youths in the state "are trying
to do the right thing." The other 3 percent, he said, will probably have
contact with his agents.

Melton, who spoke to the McComb High School student body and to the McComb
Rotary Club, gave an outline of some of the policies he has enacted since
taking over as the state's drug czar. He also encouraged youths to stay in
school and avoid the lure of drugs.

Melton said his agents will not conduct drug searches on school campuses, as
arresting a youth in front of their peers could place a stigma on their
character that they may never be able to shake.

"We don't search lockers, we don't search kids, we don't do that," he said.
"It's about protecting the 97 percent of our kids who are trying to do right."

"I'm not going to build a reputation by putting kids in jail, I'm going to
build a reputation by keeping kids in school," Melton said at the high school.

Melton has also enacted a policy to not release the names of teen drug
offenders to the media.

"If you go out and make a mistake, what right do I have to go out and embarrass
your parents who are trying to do the right thing?" he said.

Melton advised the students that if they ever found themselves in trouble - and
in front of a judge - they should "simply tell the truth," and make an honest
break.

"Guys, if I catch you selling drugs, I'm going to take everything that you own
all the way down to your ugly tennis shoes," Melton said.

"I'm going to take everything that you own. Here's the good news: What you're
getting up here at this school no one can ever take from you."

Melton also warned the students about what he said is the most dangerous drug
in the state of Mississippi - crystal methamphetamine.

"If I make a mistake in manufacturing this dangerous drug, it will blow up this
entire school and kill all of us," Melton said. "If it's that explosive, just
imagine what it does to the human body.

"There are two ways out of the drug business, a pair of handcuffs or a coffin,
and I've buried enough kids to know that," he said.

The MBN Director added that the debate to legalize marijuana in other parts of
the United States and Canada hasn't spread to Mississippi yet, but if it does
he will resist it.

"Marijuana is nothing but a precursor to more dangerous, addictive drugs," he
said.

But the MBN chief's speeches weren't all about drug policies and informing the
public about the latest and most dangerous trends in the drug trade.

Melton, who has become well known for confiscating an earring or two from male
students during school tours, stayed on the soap box that's made him famous:
telling youths to stay in school and present themselves in an image of
self-respect.

"In America, appearance still counts," Melton said. "Guys, what I'm saying to
you is give those earrings to your sisters. Keep your pants on your behind
where they belong."

Melton, a former Jackson television executive who owns companies in
Mississippi, Texas, South Carolina and California, said although he's a
multimillionaire, he chooses to live in one of the poorest states in the
country and make investments in the enrichment of its people.

Melton's family has adopted more than a dozen children and he has paid college
tuition for dozens more who, although talented and bright, come from
impoverished backgrounds that would doom any chances of higher learning.

Gloster native and Ole Mis football standout Chris Collins was one of many
students he has sent to college, Melton said.

"The best investment I've ever made in my life is on kids like you," Melton
said.

Melton said he is glad to see the state start to spend more money on education
than on its corrections system.

"It's more economical to educate you than it is to incarcerate you," he said.

He said Mississippi "has allowed too many excuses for failure" for its young
people in the past, and that trend is starting to be reversed.

"I'm tired of kids coming up and telling me that they're in a GED program and
they don't even know what GED stands for," Melton said.