We have heard a lot about “going green,” “global warming” and the war in Iraq. I love my country and the earth, but I know firsthand that the problem we aren’t talking about enough, that can destroy our world, is drug and alcohol addiction. If generations of people are destroyed by drugs and alcohol, we won’t need to conserve natural resources. Losing a child in the war would be horrible, but what about the many, many more lost to drug and alcohol addiction every single day? That is the war our government silently gave up on.

My authority on the subject comes from seeing an all-American girl turn into a lying, cheating, stealing drug addict. My daughter lost her 20s to the painful life of an addict. Her goal of becoming a successful marketing executive was replaced with a successful drug addiction.

Our family became consumed with her addiction, too. We were more afraid of her demons than facing Bin Laden. We saw the twin towers of our life fall every day.

The reason she isn’t dead or in jail is because we found a rehab center. The reason it worked is because one drug wasn’t traded for another drug. She had seen too many friends try and fail with other rehabs. They treated my daughter with simple nutrition, vitamins, counseling and life skills training. It saved her life.

Parents don’t know what to do when a horrible addiction problem becomes a life or death issue. They may resort to a readily available program that gives a prescription drug as a solution to the street drug problem. But a prescription drug-zonked child isn’t any better than a street addict.

We wondered how we could pay for her to go, but we soon realized that we couldn’t afford not to send her.

Sending my daughter Natalie to rehab was an investment that has been paid back in countless ways. She is clean and happy, and we are too.

Regards,

Loving Parents of Natalie – still alive and soberHattiesburg, Miss.