DEA AGENT TALKS TO PARENTS

During a PTO sponsored event at Evans Middle School parents learned
that even objects that seem harmless like deodorant sticks, school
lunch pails and makeup kits can hiding places for dangerous drugs.

Cheech and Chong first made it popular. Harold and Kumar turned it
into a comedy adventure. But to the parents who attended the Parent
Teacher Organization sponsored drug information presentation at Evans
Middle School, the issue was anything but funny.

Special agent James Brown of the Drug Enforcement Administration
Agency spoke about the serious problem which continues to be a
concern for parents in McKinney. The 10-year veteran who works out of
the Dallas office of the DEA says that back in high school he saw
classmates get arrested for drugs and lives of young people get
ruined. The experience put the passion in him to stop the drug
problem in the United States.

"I hate drugs," Brown said.

The issue is often made humorous in movies and glorified in music
videos but Brown says that the harsh reality of the drug industry is
that it can be dangerous and can leave a lasting effect that changes lives.

The drug problem among young people is as fast-growing as the leaves
of one of the most widely abused drugs: Marijuana. Every year, about
200 to 400 kilograms are seized by law enforcement. The popular drug
is often smoked as a cigarette, or more commonly known as a joint but
it is also used in combination with other drugs such as crack cocaine.

Many of these drugs such as heroin and cocaine, come from across the
border from South American countries like Mexico or Columbia. They
are smuggled into the country in the most atrocious of ways. Often a
human smuggler will ingest tiny condoms filled with cocaine and
sometimes the cocaine-filled condoms are surgically implanted into
dogs. The carriers sneak them through airports or bus stations, if
they make it that far without one of the condoms exploding and killing them.

Carriers are only part of the drug trafficking industry. The drugs
have to be made somewhere. Take, for example, methamphetamines,
sometimes known as crystal meth. These drugs are made in homes, in
cars or hotels. Meth is becoming increasingly popular in communities
where sometimes your next door neighbor might have a secret meth lab
in his or her kitchen. The drug, often known as the "Poor Man's
cocaine," for it's cheapness, can cause explosions from inexperienced
makers that can cause devastating effects.

With the risk of death or jail, getting involved in the drug
trafficking industry seems hardly worth it. But Brown says the high
profit you can make is addictive as a drug.

"It's all about the money," Brown said.