MORE HELP IS NEEDED IN MOORE COUNTY'S WAR ON DRUGS

This is the fifth and final installment in a series of columns by June
Vetter, executive director of Drug Free Moore County Inc., on drug problems
in small communities.

Last week we reported on one mother who watched her teen-age son slip into
a life of drugs that started with pot and deteriorated into crack. Over the
past three years, this family has walked a precarious road. Now, after
spending time in a rehab facility, their son has been clean for more than a
year.

Another mom watches her 30-something son fight heroin addiction and prays
he can win the war raging inside him. But the anxious look in his eye
bespoke her hidden fears.

"He never caused problems when he was growing up," she says. "It all
started in his mid-20s when he just wanted to be free from the pain of old
sports injuries. He had lots of medications, but there was no insurance to
help pay for corrective surgery. The medications no longer helped, and the
pain was constant. Then he met someone who said, 'I know something that
will make the pain go away.' That's when he was introduced to heroin."

In and out of rehab for almost two years, this man's life slides from a
cycle of ups to a cycle of downs. Right now he is clean, but can he really
make it this time?

"Nobody starts out saying they are going to become an addict, but it
happens. His world has crumbled around him," the mother says. "He faces the
challenge of rebuilding his life one step at a time, one hour at a time,
one day at a time. All we can do as parents is love him. The rest is up to
him."

While Mom No. 1 is concerned that her son remain clean, Mom No. 2 knows if
her son does not stay in recovery his choices will be limited to two: be
institutionalized or die in what should be the prime of life. "This is a
family disease. It affects all of us," she says.

The greatest similarity between the experiences these two women faced is
their frustration when seeking help.

Juvenile justice workers, social workers and mental health and
substance-abuse professionals all agree: There are not enough treatment
facilities in Moore County, and those outside the area often have long
waiting lists. Halfway houses are needed, as is a change in the jail system
that incarcerates offenders but often lets them back on the street without
referring them for treatment.

"Jail is stupid when you realize a person arrested for possession can wind
up in the same cell as a rapist or someone who has attempted murder," says
one of the women.

"We have a large and growing denial gap when it comes to drug abuse and
dependency in this country," said John Walters, director of National Drug
Control Policy, recently. "We have a responsibility . to reach out to help
these people. We must find ways to lead them back to drug-free lives. And
the earlier we reach them, the greater will be our likelihood of success."

The mission of Drug Free Moore County Inc. is to promote strategies for the
prevention of substance abuse. This means we want to educate the public
that drug abuse is real, that it is here in Moore County, and that we
partner with organizations working to rid them from our community.

We believe "harm minimization" -- a growing term used by many in this
country and Europe -- is not the answer. Those supporting this view suggest
users be able to continue their habit while society should only seek to
limit the harm it does to the user's body. Their aggressive mantras are,
"end drug prohibition" and "teach responsible drug use."

The broken lives of thousands of teen-agers and adults and the alarming
number of middle-school children experimenting with drugs convince us that
drug prohibition is not the culprit causing devastation in too many lives.
It's the drugs.

Despite the opinion of some, drug wars will continue as suppliers fight
each other to get the buck drugs demand. Acts of crime will continue by
those who want to buy drugs whether they are made legal or not. And, yes,
more tax dollars will trickle out of your pocket and mine to help those who
did not plan to become addicted but who now face an endless round of needed
treatment and do not have the resources to pay for them. Contact Information

24 Hour Emergency Number: 1-800-256-2452.

Referral information: Sandhills Center 910-295-6853.

www.firsthealth.org/community/index.htm 24 Hour Emergency Number:
1-800-256-2452.

findtreatment.samhsa.gov. (A recent visit to this location indicated there
are 144 facilities within 100 miles of Southern Pines.)

www.fsteam@na.org (Narcotics Anonymous)

www.oxfordhouse.org (halfway houses)