DRUG ABUSE KEY INGREDIENT IN VIOLENCE

Drugs and substance abuse are at the root of crime problems in Orangeburg.
That was the consensus of law enforcement and other experts in "Cuffed by
crime," a February 2002 series of Times and Democrat reports on crime in
Orangeburg County.

Don't mistake the conclusion. The violent crime to which the experts
referred is not just cases of drug dealers killing drug dealers or people
committing robberies to get drug money. We are talking violence inside the
home. And it's become epidemic.

The bad news came this past week: South Carolina is third in the nation in
the rate of women slain by men.

The Violence Policy Center annual report ranks South Carolina, which was
No. 5 in 1999 and No. 1 the previous year, behind Mississippi and Arizona
in domestic violence deaths in 2000, the most recent year for which data is
available.

There were 46 cases in 2000 in which a woman was killed by a man in South
Carolina. In 40 cases, a woman was killed by someone she knew, the report
says. Two-thirds of the victims were wives, ex-wives, common-law wives or
girlfriends.

In Orangeburg County and around The T&D Region, the problem is no secret to
law enforcement. They are dealing with domestic violence cases constantly.

Every week the crime reports in this newspaper include stunning examples of
domestic violence. It's no longer the silent crime. And things are getting
worse.

S.C. Attorney General Charlie Condon's zero-tolerance policy for domestic
violence mandates that prosecutors take suspects to court whether victims
agree to prosecute or not. He says the policy has resulted in more
prosecutions.

But even the state's chief prosecutor knows things have gotten worse. "It's
unacceptable. It's gotta change. I think it shows the need to have a
statewide war against domestic violence. I think it's our No. 1 crime problem."

Battling it, however, means also battling substance abuse.

Rick Wade, the candidate for secretary of state in this year's election,
served as director of the S.C. Department of Alcohol and Other Drug Abuse
Services for most of the last four years.

During a speech in Orangeburg earlier this year, Wade addressed directly
the connection between alcohol and drug abuse and domestic violence.

"I haven't found an area in our society ... where the issue of alcohol and
drug abuse doesn't become imminent. It is a devastating disease," Wade
said. Statistics from the Center for Substance Abuse Prevention indicate
that 64 percent of child abuse cases stem from past alcohol and substance
abuse among adults, he said.

Other statistics indicate:

- -- One-fourth of men who commit acts of domestic violence also have
substance-abuse problems.

- -- A sizable percentage of convicted batterers were raised by parents who
abused drugs or alcohol.

- -- Women who abuse alcohol or drugs are more likely to become victims of
domestic violence.

- -- Childhood physical abuse is associated with later substance abuse by youth.

Wade said the familiar "war on drugs" has become less singular and is now a
battle against "a series of epidemics attacking our communities" -- not the
least of them is domestic violence.

Arresting drug dealers alone will not win the war on drugs. Reducing
consumer demand for illegal drugs and achieving responsible use of alcohol,
along with continuing focus on teaching the young that violence is not
acceptable, are equally crucial.

Reduce alcohol and drug abuse and we will reduce domestic violence. It's
that complex. And that simple.