Pubdate: Wed, 10 Apr 2002
Source: Greenwood Commonwealth (MS)
Copyright: 2002 Greenwood Commonwealth
Contact:  http://www.gwcommonwealth.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1541
Author: Donald V. Adderton

JUDGE TELLS ABOUT BATTLE

GREENVILLE - 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 that is 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" 
Ecstasy.

"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 Ecstasy 
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 of 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.
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