'It could happen anywhere'

By STEVE SNYDER Examiner editor

"It could happen to anybody."

Those were the words of Sheriff Don Sowell last week, after a bizarre series of interconnected crimes stretched across Grimes County.

Old information about the wrong residents got innocent people involved in what was apparently intended to be a drug-related robbery.

Change Sheriff Sowell's words just a bit, and you have, "It happens anywhere."

About drug crime, it's true.

Repeated surveys and research show little difference in drug use between people of different racial or ethnic groups, different income classes, or urban vs. rural areas.

If you talk to law enforcement officials, and they answer candidly, they will tell you we are "containing" the situation. In other words, if it's a "war on drugs," that war is a Korea at best, not World War II.

That's not to say that ramping up to fight a World War II on drugs is what we need. (It would be far more costly than today, though, not just in money, but in law enforcement activity.) That's not to say that's wrong, either, or that the "containment" level is right, or wrong, or even that dialing down the war on drugs is right or wrong.

Awareness, though, is the first step in dealing well with any difficult situation.

And, so, last week's crimes loudly shout that drug use, drug crime and drug violence do happen anywhere and everywhere with relative equality.

Beyond that, you can always hear almost-stereotypical stories of backwoods meth labs being set up in rural areas. Skimming a thick crust of hype off the top, there's probably a certain core of truth behind that. After all, in the 1920s, the same was true of moonshine stills in many places, right?

In other words, drug-related crime and drug-related social issues are everywhere. As long as dealing in illegal drugs offers the chance at a fair amount of quick money, that's going to be true. We can't hide from it, and probably shouldn't hide children from it. And that includes more than law enforcement officers talking about drugs in school.

It also includes, in my opinion, parents talking openly, and without judgment or advance condemnation, with their children about drug issues. That may not feel a lot more comfortable than talking about sexuality issues. But, if parents don't, someone else will surely step into the vacuum.

All adults should probably make themselves aware of drug issues, anyway, not just for talking to children, but to discuss this as a larger societal issue.

At bottom, I personally feel the issue of drug enforcement, and how much level gets put into what level of containment, is by no means a simple one.

Beyond drugs that are "illegal," period, you have a wide variety of prescription medications that can be abused when taken beyond their normal dosage, or mixed with other drugs. You even have over-the-counter drugs that can be abused. Sales of pseudoephedrine-containing products are restricted because it's a precursor of meth. Well, the cough suppressant ingredient in Nyquil can be hallucinogenic in high enough doses; Dallas had a problem with kids getting the straight DMT, in powder form, several years back. Primatene Mist asthma inhaler is a chemical cousin of adrenalin. Other over-the-counter medications can also be abused.

That's not saying they're as bad as heroin; also, since they're much cheaper, they don't have the same crime potential. But, they do have an abuse potential. They can be drugs.

Contact Steve Snyder at editor@navasotaexaminer.com.