TeeLow's talent tackles city's drug problem

No one denies there is a drug epidemic in Ohio. Sadly, our readership area is not exempt from this scourge. Too many addicts are responsible for too many crimes, too many broken families and, far too many deaths.Law enforcement, educators, pastors and doctors are all working to abate this problem. Unfortunately, peer pressure is often stronger than their advice. Though peer pressure may be the catalyst that brings people to drugs, the needle and the spoon are the culprits which grab a person and hang on, never lessening their hold.An Erie County resident, Antonio Lopez, aka TeeLow, is not content to just sit back and watch drugs chip away at a generation. He wrote a verse, "Dear Sandusky," and with his girlfriend, Stephanie Conkey, behind the camera, produced a rap video, published on Facebook, that has gone viral and has registered 27,000 views in the last month.His message is basically an open letter to Sandusky, spelling out the depth of the problem and calling for everyone to work toward a solution. He reminds those who are in the throes of heroin or other opiate addiction that this need not be the end for them. They can turn their lives around. But only when they take on the challenge themselves will things change for them.We applaud TeeLow for his efforts and implore others to join him in presenting a new kind of peer pressure, one that encourages and celebrates life.