For most of us, today’s drug problems are just plain hard to understand. We guess that is because we have never been caught in the throes of such a powerful addiction. We shake our heads at the destruction, the lives ruined, the families in shambles, the children hurt, and the death toll.

Just this past weekend there was a shooting incident in Clarksburg that took the lives of four. Investigators believe it was drug-related-as probably all of us did when we first heard the news. The extra pain in that incident is that two completely innocent bystanders were victims. They were newspaper delivery people who had worked faithfully at that difficult job for 30 years. Then one morning they were in the wrong place at the wrong time-thanks to drugs.

On page 6A there is a story of a young man who pleaded guilty to transferring stolen property. Judge David W. Hummel’s questions to the defendant no doubt get to the crux of the problem-drugs. We loved how Hummel delved deeper into the psyche and life of this defendant. Why snorting? How did you get hooked? How much do you spend? But the real question is just, “Why?”

There is no good that comes from drugs-none. No high is worth the pain and cost-both monetary and otherwise.

If you or a loved one has a drug problem, we hope you will seek help. If you are not on drugs, please don’t start. It is ruining lives and our society in general. If you know a young person-good, bad, or indifferent-please stress to them the importance of never even trying drugs. Even one “taste” can get them hooked. The drug slogan from the 1980s still holds true, “Just say no!”