GROUP RECRUITING TO FIGHT LOCAL WAR ON DRUGS

Members Hope Message Reaches Community

LAVALE -- Randy Davis died from alcohol poisoning on March 16, 2003.
But the beer bottles that often litter her son's gravesite tell
Dorothy Davis that some of his friends still haven't gotten the
message about the realities of alcohol and drug abuse.

"At the funeral we also found quite a few joints in his casket and
some notes saying, 'if we just could have had one more party with
you,'" said Davis. "That tells me some of these kids are just not
getting the message."

Since her son's death, Davis has been sharing the story of his
four-year battle against drugs and alcohol with students, parents and
anyone who'll listen in an effort to keep children off drugs.

Working with a grass roots group called CAUSE (Citizens Addressing the
Unhealthy Substance Epidemic), Davis hopes to get more information
about the dangers of substance abuse into the community.

The organization meets every other week from 5:30 to 7 p.m. at Christ
Lutheran Church, which is located along Vocke Road in LaVale. There is
no formal membership, and anyone interested in joining the "war on
drugs" is invited to attend.

The group concentrates efforts on four basic areas, community
awareness, kindergarten through 12th grade education, treatment
options and the role of the legal system.

The next meeting of CAUSE is scheduled on Oct. 6.

"No one's exempt -- that's my message," said Davis. "Randy was not
angelic. He was a good kid and had a very loving heart, but he got
into this lifestyle and he couldn't get out. I know if my child had
this problem it could happen to anyone."

She said parents can't assume their kids are safe from substance
abuse, even when they seem to be in good hands.

"Huffing was the very first thing he tried, and he was out with a
church group," said Davis. "Later he tried marijuana and then alcohol.
You name it, he used it." That included heroin and crack cocaine.

She recalled the first time her son nearly died from alcohol poisoning
was during a party at a friend's house that was being supervised by
adults, including the friend's parents.

"They thought it was cute," said Davis.

Other CAUSE members include Alice Hershiser, who has been with the
group since its first meeting this spring.

"My son, John, got into heroin, but couldn't get off it," she said.
"He used to say, 'Mom, it's like a demon, it controls you.'"

Although he tried to get help through rehabilitation programs,
Hershiser said the programs didn't last long enough for John to fully
recover.

"He would say, 'I don't want to hurt you anymore,'" she said, noting
that her son once even tried to take his own life.

Hershiser said finally, in desperation, John committed a crime and had
himself arrested in order to get away from the drugs. He told her the
state prison system has the best rehabilitation program available.

"He looks good now, but he looked like death when he went in," she
said.

Her son hopes to be able to share his story with school students when
he's released to help them stay out of the drug lifestyle.

CAUSE co-chair Helen Miller, supervisor of emergency mental health for
the Western Maryland Health System, said she became involved with the
group after seeing an alarming increase in the number of heroin cases
over the past year and a half.

"And we're also seeing more kids on alcohol and other drugs," she
said. "As a parent I thought, 'We have to address this as a total
community. Our kids are dying.' That's what really got to me.

"We need more parental involvement and for every responsible adult to
be vigilant and keep their eyes open to this problem," said Miller.
"Every adult needs to get passionate about this and say it's not going
to happen in our community. We need to get the word out. Everyone can
do something."

Member Anna Custer, executive director of the Greater Cumberland
Committee, agreed.

"The worst thing we can do is stay in the dark about the local drug
problem," she said.

"Randy's been dead for 190 days now," said Davis. "I've given my
presentation a dozen times since then. But knowledge is power, and I
just want people to be open to our message, accept the information,
and use it to help others."