RISING TO THE CHALLENGE OF DRUGS, GANGS TAKES GUTS

A pained expression crossed W. Allen Pepper Jr.'s face when he began to
talk about how illegal drugs have dashed young lives and ripped apart families.

As a U.S. District Court judge, the Bolivar County native has witnessed
firsthand from the bench what the substance abuse carnage is doing to
Mississippi and the nation.

He is disturbed by the trend that is weaving its evil way into the human
community fabric - wrapping its vile tentacles around our impressionable
young people.

"We should do whatever it takes to win this war, because there is no
alternative," Pepper said. "The enemy is now at the gates, and we must do
something."

But in America, there always seems to be a constant, forever presenting an
oasis of hope, and believability. For a long time now, the American
scouting movement has provided our adolescents with a wholesome avenue for
character-building and leadership.

It was those childhood scouting experiences that prompted Pepper to make a
rare public speech, in fact, the first one since being appointed to the
federal bench in 1999 by President Bill Clinton.

"It takes courage and conviction to be a scout," Pepper said before the
annual fund-raiser dinner of the Washington District of the Boys Scouts of
America.

Many of you who are reading this column probably, at one time or another,
were involved with scouting, as a youngster or adult volunteer. I know I
have taken the building blocks of scouting with me into adulthood.

Nonetheless, our young people continue to be romanced by the allure of
street life and illegal drugs. A study released last year by the
Partnership for a Drug Free Society indicated 11.3 million teenagers
admitted using illegal drugs. And marijuana remains the drug of choice
among teenagers.

And the drug abuse problem taking place in Mississippi Delta communities
only serves to mirror a more vexing social problem. It's an issue that is
not lost on Pepper, who calls illegal drugs a silent, but deadly force
impacting our nation.

Pepper talked about attending a concert last year in Memphis, and was
aghast when his son told him several stylishly dressed young adults sitting
a couple of rows ahead where using the so-called "club drug" Exstacy.

"It was right there in the open, and no one knew," he said. "They just kept
drinking bottled water and passing around Altoids."

What appeared to be high-priced breath mints were actually Exstacy tabs
that they carried in the Altoids tins.

"I know that I am not the only naive one," Pepper continued, "because a
former U.S. attorney was sitting behind us, and he was just as shocked as I
was."

You see, the drug causes the body temperature to increase, which requires a
steady water supply.

Although there has been a concerted government response - even at one time
creating a so-called drug czar - to the illegal drug invasion with varying
degrees success, Pepper, nevertheless, challenged the audience to become
more involved in parenting and mentoring children and teenagers.

"Our young people are our tomorrow, and they belong to us for better or
worse," Pepper said. "Drugs and gangs exist in our communities today,
because the public has not been outraged."

Just where is the moral indignation? How long will you allow outside
impurities to continue to contaminate our youth?

Unless we stand as a collective, illegal substances will remain a social
scourge, and the blame will rest on our shoulders.

Donald V. Adderton is editor of the Delta Democrat Times