Pubdate: Wed, 22 May 2002
Source: Big Sandy News, The (KY)
Copyright: 2002 The Big Sandy News
Contact:  http://www.bigsandynews.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1975
Author: Scott Perry
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/meth.htm (Methamphetamine)

THIS VIRUS STEMS FROM DEADLY MIX

Politics in Eastern Kentucky have always been highly charged and 
emotional, especially during countywide elections, but this recent 
spate of violence can't be shrugged off as politics as usual. There 
is nothing usual about the assassination of one candidate in Pulaski 
County...with an opponent among three charged with murder...nor is 
there anything typical about gunfire this week in Clay County that 
targeted at least one candidate, maybe more. There is nothing usual 
about the murder of another candidate in Harlan County. These are not 
cases of emotional overload.

They are signals of a very serious problem that promises only more 
violence. These heinous acts are the symptoms of a deadly mixture 
that is not unique to our region or our state, but it is a 
combination that we must attack quickly and effectively, with eyes 
wide open. Drugs and poverty-induced desperation are the ingredients 
of a problem that threatens the very fabric of our society, and the 
"players in this deadly game are becoming bolder and deadlier with 
every passing moment. The appearance of and rapid growth of 
methamphetamine production in Eastern Kentucky requires our immediate 
attention. This drug can be produced from materials available just 
about anywhere. It is a highly addictive drug that can turn seemingly 
"normal" people into violence-prone psychopaths. The proliferation of 
this drug, if not curbed quickly, could shred our society. We stand 
to lose an entire generation to addiction and even bloodshed if we 
don't stem the growth of this meth-induced virus. Our police agencies 
are being overwhelmed by drug cases and our institutions are being 
infiltrated by the subculture. Most of the recent examples of 
violence in politics all point in the same direction, to the same 
root cause...drugs. We cannot permit the peace and tranquility of our 
lives to be threatened any longer by this infection. We cannot look 
the other way and hope it will go away. We can't let the bad guys win 
this fight, but they will if we don't draw a line now. We have a 
problem...a very dangerous, deadly problem that is well-financed and 
uninhibited by anything resembling principle, humanity or morality. 
We must stand up, stand firm and stand in to combat it. This war must 
not be lost.

- --Scott Perry
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MAP posted-by: Josh