Editorial

A DANGER TO FAMILY, FRIENDS AND HEALTH

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In order to do anything of accomplishment in this world you must stay drug free.

That was the straightforward message of a special agent with the Drug Enforcement Agency to about 100 young participants in the National Youth Sports Program at Southeast Missouri State University.

The kids of this world need more dialogue from the Shirley Armsteads of this world.

Drugs are bad news. Agent Armstead offers no ifs, ands or buts. As an undercover agent, she has seen the plague of drugs at work firsthand. She is one of 3,800 DEA agents nationwide.

Drugs are dangerous to your health, to your life and to your friends and families, she told the teenagers.

It is a message that should never be downplayed or distorted. As we look at an increasingly violent atmosphere in communities south of us in large part because of drug use and related gang activity, and open our eyes to on-going problems here, this message should be repeated and retold. The secret is to not try drugs in the first place, and to seek help if that strategy is already too late. Pass the word along.