The Monster Lurks Amoung Us

From the porch By Dwight Otwell

As you are motoring down the highway enjoying a beautiful spring day, one out of every 10 people in the traffic around you is probably addicted to drugs and/or alcohol.

A publication called "Street Drugs" states that in the United States, an estimated 21.6 million persons aged 12 or older in 2003 were classified with substance dependence or abuse. That is 9.1 percent of the total population. About a third of those were both alcohol and illicit drug dependent. Drugs and alcohol are the monster that lurks among us.

Oxycontin is often abused and is prescribed to relieve pain. The drug is twice as potent as morphine. Oxycontin generally sells for $5 to $80 per tablet, depending on the strength of the dose.

Ritalin and Adderall are two of the most commonly abused prescription stimulants. They are typically prescribed to treat attention deficit disorders. Because they are stimulants, the effects of both are similar to that of cocaine or methamphetamine when abused. Abuse of these drugs is increasing because a number of patients are illegally selling their legitimately prescribed drugs to abusers.

The publication stated that 20 percent of teens reported abuse of prescription pain killers.

The Internet has become a dangerous place for children and adolescents who have a curiosity about drugs. You can buy prescription drugs without a prescription at some web sites. They are sold to anyone willing to pay the price.

Methamphetamine is the drug most in the news in

our area of the country these

days. During the 1960s, trained chemists spent days or weeks setting up expensive, difficult to get and sophisticated lab equipment and chemicals to produce meth.

Today, household products can be mixed in a single container producing meth in about two hours in a method called the "one pot method".

It is estimated that every pound of meth produced leaves behind five to seven pounds of toxic waste.

But with all the news about illegal drugs, alcohol is the most widely abused drug in the world. Alcohol causes about 1.8 million deaths annually.

With all of this alarming news about substance abuse, there is some good news. The Cherokee County Drug Coalition is compiling data about drug use among youth in the county. They plan to implement drug awareness and education programs.

This is a good effort to tackle a giant of a problem that is destroying many young people and breaking the hearts of their families.

Problems should never be swept under the carpet. It is best to know there is a problem, to identify the problem and then to try various ways to combat it until something succeeds.

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