WHEN DRUGS CONSUME LIVES

Oxycontin is a painkiller, but the pain it has caused the Achord family and
other families in our community indicates just the opposite. The terrible
anguish is clear in the words of Gary Achord even without the mention of
his teardrops on the written page. What sadness to be in their shoes.

Of course, it can be said that chemicals don't make decisions. People do.
But at some point, people can become dependent on chemicals. The drugs
consume them.

In his Jan. 3 letter in The Daily Star newspaper, Achord speaks about the
financial roadblocks his son ran into when he sought help. It is not the
first time by any means that someone wanted to get off drugs and discovered
he couldn't afford it. Even when people have insurance, all too often they
quickly learn that their policies fall far short in providing the amount
and types of treatment they actually need.

We deeply wish we had some answers for families and individuals in these
situations whose lives have been torn apart by chemical dependency. We wish
more substance abuse rehabilitation therapy was available to area
residents. Sadly, all we have to offer is paper and ink for parents like
Gary and Linda Achord to express their heartache and pleas for help and
prayers. And we hope that their words will touch others before it's too late.