Boone County West Virginia (budget, income, home)

[pondfork]

there is a serious epidemic that is killing our young people here. it's prescription drug abuse. i don't know the exact count of deaths in this county in the past few years but it is high!!! if i were to sit down with a pen and paper and start writing the names (just the ones i know of) of the young people that we've lost that you can contribute to this epidemic, i believe i could fill up the whole sheet of paper. Then there are those who are still roaming that are affected with this disease. go to the local market and you'll more than likely see some extremely thin young guy or girl come in with their eyes glazed over and their head held down hoping that no one notices.
I know it's not just our young people it's just that my heart aches for this part of our society.
What is the answer? My opinion is that it is not the methadone clinics that have sprung up everywhere claiming to help addicts. Surely some clients go there for the right reasons, but i think that if we truly knew, the majority are either using the clinics for a way to get their drugs cheaper, or selling the drugs they get to take home for an extra form of income, putting more of this particular narcotic in the hands of our young people.
so i ask again, what is the answer? I don't think that it is for the police departments to use a large part of the budget to put helicopters in the air complete with optical devices and specially trained officers to spot marijuanna crops growing in the mountains. Or to purchase 4 wheel drives to help in the erradication of these plants. I am not one of those radicals out to leagalize cannabis I'm just saying how many deaths have we had in this county from smoking a joint. Did someone get the munchies and eat till they exploded. It may sound like i'm trivializing this drug but I do feel that compared to the deadly narcotics that are out there now then pot is trivial in comparison.
For some time I have felt the need (a "calling" if you will) to lead our young people in the right direction. But how do you fulfill a desire when you don't know which way to turn. I have dedicated my life to things like participating in youth programs to schools and sports, hoping that in some way I can make a difference. But it doesn't seem to be enough. I need to take this further.
If you too are from Boone County West Virginia and see the same problems or have a solution i would love to hear from you. If you are not but have an idea please respond.