DRUGS GREATEST THREAT

We can argue about the greatest threat to our country until the cows come
home, but the majority opinion will be wrong. It is not a terrorist attack,
which is as likely as another Valdez oil spill. Has anyone heard from bin
Laden since Sept. 11? And it is not the dot-com meltdown, which is over by
all appearances. Wall Street should be a solid investment with savvy folks
who stick to the low P/E companies that have survived for the past 30 years.

The most frightening threat, one which has mushroomed in the past 10 years
of youthful rebellion and avaricious purveyors, is drug addiction. Our
misguided government, swayed by narrow-minded constituencies, has failed to
address the focal point of this ongoing menace. We must exert all of our
efforts into rehabilitation of addicts, the consumers, and not the purveyors.

The programs in place in our community are diametrically opposed. One,
SWFAS, offers detox and a 12-point program to rehabilitation focused on
group therapy. (Think Alcoholics Anonymous). The other medically supervised
approach is a methadone clinic which substitutes a controllable narcotic,
which is legal, for heroin, which is illegal.

Most crime in this county today is drug related, be it turf battles or
addict-driven crime. The failure rate of SWFAS approaches 90 percent,
meaning that their patients are out on the street within weeks seeking
drugs and committing crimes. With methadone, addicts are able to resume a
useful role in society, hold jobs, eschew crime and eventually break the
habit completely.

Isn't it time that our government realizes its mistake and makes a useful
contribution to the elimination of the greatest threat to our nation --
drug addiction?