Gina: Thanks for your input: I'm terribly sorry for your loss. This stuff almost killed me before I smartened up 35 years ago and quit drinking at age 26.

There is good news about substance abuse; it is called harm reduction. Simply put, it is like needle exchanges for IV drug users. We can expand that philosophy to the whole of society and I believe, reduce the horrible numbers we are seeing. My personal goal is to see a 1% reduction statewide in my life. What would that do with regard to alcohol?

A 1% reduction would mean 25 fewer homicides in a ten year period. It would also mean a direct savings of $65 million dollars in the same time frame. Harm reduction recognizes the problem and deals with it in a sane fashion. I know that won't get your daughter back; however, perhaps we can save more people in the future. Take care.