Damn Isle, after reading that I need a drink. I can only hope that things are going to get better, America has had an on going abuse problem way before I was born but it has risen to bigger heights. As bad as crack is , I believe meth has taken over as the dominant drug of choice and to me seems much more detrimental than crack, if you can imagine that. I don't know what the solution is going to be, I believe that there are far too many young people in prison for drugs but when drugs cause people to turn to violent acts you don't want them running loose on the streets. I myself have experimented with just about every drug out there (short of sticking a needle in my arm) but as I matured I grew away from those things. For some people, they can't do just a little and leave it alone, they become instant addicts and even though I don't understand the addiction , I feel for these people.
Keep the faith.