Pubdate: Tue, 18 Mar 2003
Source: Post-Standard, The (NY)
Copyright: 2003, Syracuse Post-Standard
Contact:  http://www.syracuse.com/poststandard/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/686
Author: Anna Call

DRUGS ARE BAD? OK, BUT LET US IN ON THE DETAILS

Our state spends a lot of money each year on drug education.

To graduate, students need two health classes, one in middle school and one 
in high school, that touch on the evils of drugs. In addition, the DARE 
program in many schools rewards children who memorize facts on the hazards 
and consequences of substance abuse. This is to ensure that most of those 
sweet little angels don't grow into chronic dopers or helpless heroin addicts.

All very well and good. I'm sure the information deters some students from 
trying hard-core drugs right off the bat.

But according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, more than half of 
high school seniors have used illicit drugs at least once, and nearly four 
out of five have used alcohol. A small portion of them will become chronic 
users or graduate to ever more hard-core substances, with disastrous results.

Why? The bottom line is that the health classes and textbooks aren't enough 
to satisfy anyone's curiosity.

I went through the DARE program in middle school, but it gave few details 
beyond bare statistics. In short: These drugs are bad for you.

This was good for as long as I was young enough to take every adult's word 
as holy law. But by high school, I was eager for a more detailed 
explanation. I had been hoping my ninth-grade class would describe exactly 
how drugs made you feel, and give a solid reason for not using a drug just 
once as an experiment.

Perhaps what I was expecting was a reading assignment of a drug addict's 
memoirs, a trip to a rehab center or lectures by past drug users. What I 
got was another dry treatise by a teacher who had never used a drug and did 
not care to come into contact with anyone who had.

I remember the books about drugs that I looked at in anti-drug classes. The 
drug user was invariably a villainous character, corroded and sick, living 
only to hook his friends. No reason was given for this drive to addict 
others, no description of how the shady pusher evolved out of an ordinary 
person.

The whole attitude was unbalanced. It registered immediately as a deception 
and threw up walls between students and adults. It made young people even 
less likely to listen to anti-drug talk and more likely to experiment on 
their own. If the approach treated a drug addict not as a criminal but as 
an ordinary Joe who made some bad decisions, it would get a much better 
reception.

Young people are not stupid. If they were given good enough reasons and a 
more forgiving attitude, fewer would become addicted. As it is, they are 
adapting to drug use with intelligence and increasing effectiveness.

More and more, I hear of precautionary measures being taken. A friend who 
uses marijuana has a sober buddy nearby to make sure he does nothing 
stupid. Most of the alcohol parties I get word of designate sober drivers 
for the ride home afterward.

The general attitude is that if some people want to use substances in a way 
that does not harm society, it's their business. I agree, but I do find it 
very sad that talented individuals choose for recreation something that 
will eventually destroy a part of them. Drugs are one of those split-road 
choices in life. You don't know for sure where they will lead you, or how 
they'll change you. My suggestion to schools: Can the textbooks.

Instead, take a field trip to a substance rehabilitation center. Then set 
the drugs out on a table and see how many people pick them up.

Anna Call is a junior at Cazenovia High School.
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MAP posted-by: Larry Stevens