RISING TO THE CHALLENGE OF DRUGS, GANGS TAKES GUTS

A pained expression crossed the face of W. Allen Pepper Jr. 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
first-hand from the bench what the substance-abuse carnage is doing to
Mississippi and to the nation.

He is disturbed by the trend that is weaving its evil way into the fabric
of our human community - 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."

Despite ever-increasing negative influences, there are also in America many
strong positives and constants, which offer an oasis of hope for the
future. 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 he had made 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 may have been, at one time or
another, 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 reported that 11.3 million teen-agers
admitted using illegal drugs, with marijuana being the drug of choice among
those young people.

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 that several stylishly dressed young adults
sitting a couple of rows ahead were 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. Because the drug causes the body
temperature to increase, users require a steady water supply.

"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."

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 of children and teen-agers.

"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 we allow outside
impurities to continue to contaminate our youth?

Unless we stand collectively, illegal substances will remain a social
scourge, and the blame will rest on our shoulders.