HANCOCK COUNTY TAKES A BIG STEP IN FIGHTING BACK

Drugs are not something to fool around with, and the Hancock County
Sheriff's Department made that quite clear to more than 40 suspected drug
dealers who were arrested on April Fool's Day.

The culmination of eight months of investigation was a giant stride in the
effort to rid South Mississippi of the illegal drugs that are stealing the
minds and the lives of our nation's children. The long hours and undercover
work put into Operation No Fooling underscore the commitment by law
enforcement to Sheriff Steve Garber's words that we want our young people
to know that drug use "is not what life is about."

Amen.

Also worthy of praise is the way in which the arrests were made. An
organized team from the sheriff's department and the Bay St. Louis and
Waveland police departments made the dozens of arrests quickly, efficiently
and with no reported injuries or gunshots.

As is the case with any dangerous but attractive substance, removing
illegal drugs at the source is only half the battle. The other half, the
half that cannot be accomplished by law enforcement alone, is educating
drug users and potential users to the reality that abusing drugs is a dead end.

Drugs may provide a quick route to the high that comes with genuine
happiness or accomplishment; their chemical fog may numb the discomfort of
dissatisfactions or real problems in real life, but it's all fake. When the
drug's effect wears off, the deficiency or the problem is still there, and
nothing has been done to change the reality. The only thing nearer to
reality is addiction.

This is the half of the battle that must be fought and won before a turning
point is reached in the war against the scourge of illegal drugs. It is a
battle for the minds of impressionable children that must be fought by
parents and responsible adults

For too long, we denied that our "safe" cities and our "good" children
could have such a problem. And that denial was costly.

No longer can we turn our backs on a destroyer that is luring 9-year-olds
to trade sexual favors for drugs and is shattering the minds and the
futures of too many of our children, all before they reach the age of reason.

The price is far too high.