Last Friday, a friend of mine called and asked if I would be willing to meet with a young man who had a drug problem.

The meeting was set up for 1:30 Sunday afternoon.

I was informed that the young man was a heroin addict and had recently completed a drug rehabilitation program, but within a few days, he was back to intravenously using heroin.

Sunday morning, my friend called, obviously shaken up, and told me the man had died Saturday night of a drug overdose.

That makes eight young people that I’ve heard of who died prematurely of a drug overdose in the past three months.

I spoke at a treatment center in Mandeville Sunday night. There were 15 men in attendance who were making an attempt to become drug-free. Of the 15 men, six were there because of a heroin addiction.

I shared with them the story of the young man who died the night before shooting up heroin.

Will that be an impact on them maybe staying drug-free?

I pray that it will, but that’s the unknown.

Most drug addicts hear these stories but never think it will happen to them.

In the war on drugs it appears we are losing, but I quote these words from a speech by Sir Winston Churchill, Prime Minister of Great Britain, during the Second World War: “We must never give up, never give up.”

He is credited with being one of the key figures in winning that war.

Yes, the drug problem is worse today than ever. I have to admit that’s discouraging, but we can’t give up!

If you have any questions or comments, please write Harold Keller at Get High on Life, P.O. Drawer U, Reserve, LA 70084, call 985-652-8477 or email hkeller@comcast.net.