Drugs and the economy are two pressing issues that have been part of every state and national election for as long as we can remember.

The wars on both fronts are still being fought, especially in our economically troubled small towns and inner cities.One sad case this week involved Jamel Brown, the starting point guard for Farrell High School's basketball team. Brown missed his team's semifinal victory over Kennedy Catholic on Tuesday because he was arrested the day before on charges of possessing crack cocaine.After police stopped his vehicle because of a nearby stabbing, they found what appeared to be blood on its driver's side door. Brown wasn't associated with the stabbing, but he was wanted on a burglary warrant in Mercer County. Then, police found drugs in the vehicle.A few weeks earlier, another case from western Pennsylvania captured our attention. It involved Candace Kelly, a 65-year-old woman who pleaded guilty in October for selling as much as 100 pounds of marijuana a year for more than four years. She told authorities she did it to help raise four granddaughters after her daughter died.Along with being sentenced to 15 to 30 months in state prison, Kelly was also ordered to forfeit $393,000 that state police seized as drug proceeds when they raided her home last fall. Kelly reportedly bought large quantities of marijuana at $3,300 per pound and resold it at a profit of $100 per pound.These are hard times for many people but there is help available, even to those who become so desperate they resort to selling drugs.One positive step for younger victims is through a mentoring program. It's estimated that programs within Pennsylvania are currently reaching about 12,000 young people, but there are thousands more who are in need of positive role models.Earlier this year, the state House adopted Resolution 16 which recognized January as National Mentoring Month in Pennsylvania. In sponsoring the resolution, state Rep. Julie Harhart explained that participating in a high-quality mentoring relationship can successfully reduce incidence of violence, delinquency, substance abuse and academic failure in young people.If a mentoring opportunity wasn't available to Jamal Brown when he was younger, it should have been. It may have reduced his chances of being in a police lineup. Instead, he threw away his chance to be in the starting lineup for his team's biggest game of the year on the basketball court.By JIM ZBICKtneditor@tnonline.com