Pubdate: Thu, 21 Jul 2005
Source: Bradenton Herald (FL)
Copyright: 2005 Bradenton Herald
Contact:  http://www.bradenton.com/mld/bradentonherald/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/58
Author: Richard Dymond

ADOPTING 'ZERO TOLERANCE'

LAKEWOOD RANCH - Insisting that your children sit down with you at the
dinner table at least twice a week can reduce the risk of them abusing
drugs.

"At dinner, you establish habits that make children listen even though
they don't realize it," said James R. McDonough, director of Gov. Jeb
Bush's Florida Office of Drug Control. "You don't realize how much
wisdom you can impart over dinner."

McDonough spoke to 300 guests attending a Lakewood Ranch Rotary Club
and Manatee Chamber of Commerce luncheon at the Lakewood Ranch Country
Club on Wednesday.

McDonough is responsible for the coordination of state efforts to
decrease drug abuse and its consequences in Florida.

"There is no doubt that children in Florida are moving farther and
farther away from substance abuse," McDonough said. "Surveys show a
consistent trend downward."

McDonough's audience included many from the Chamber of Commerce's
Business Against Narcotics and Drugs, which began in October 1989.

McDonough didn't have good news concerning abuse of prescription drugs
in the state, specifically painkillers like OxyContin and Methadone,
anti-anxiety drugs like Xanax and Valium, and methamphetamines.

"Deaths from prescription drugs have surpassed deaths from heroin and
cocaine in Florida," said McDonough who from 1996-1999 was director of
strategy for the Office of National Drug Control Policy, the White
House agency that leads the nation's efforts to reduce drug abuse and
its consequences on the nation.

Methamphetamines, which can cause extreme damage to the brain, are an
"epidemic" in Florida, McDonough said.

"People do horrific things on meth," McDonough said.

Keeping children off all kinds of drugs, including alcohol, involves
communication and leadership that starts in the family, McDonough said.

McDonough relayed a story about the U.S. Army, where he served a full
career as an officer, including combat in Vietnam and as a commander
in Rwanda during its 1994 civil war and genocide.

"When I graduated from West Point in 1969, drugs were rampant, even in
the Army," McDonough said. "In Vietnam, it was estimated that 50
percent used drugs in the ranks."

Some officers in the Army were doubtful volunteers would enter if the
branch adopted a "zero tolerance" policy toward drugs, McDonough said.

But, bucking a national trend at that time, the Army strictly enforced
an anti-drug policy and, by the 1980s, had lowered its drug use
statistics significantly, McDonough said.

"The Army leadership made the difference by setting standards,"
McDonough said. "People want to rise to the standards. They really do.
Children also. You parents or business owners, don't be afraid to say,
'There will be no drugs in my home or business.' Hold those values up
high and communicate them proudly to your children."

Manatee County Sheriff Charlie Wells, who introduced McDonough at the
lunch meeting, said he has zero tolerance for drugs among his
personnel and that it starts with the sheriff.

"You can't call a person fat and be afraid to get on the scale," Wells
said. "I quit drinking about 16 years ago because I didn't want my son
and daughters to see me drinking. I get drug-tested at work. If my
name isn't on the list, I tell them to put it on."

But to show how difficult the problem can be, Wells said his own
father didn't drink, yet he started drinking beer in high school.

"I probably had my first drink at a bowling alley in Hillsborough
County when I was in high school," Wells said. "It wasn't peer
pressure. I was a rebel-type kid. But I think even with a rebel kid,
you sit and eat dinner with them a few nights a week and do the best
you can to monitor their activities and you can make a
difference."

If children do get involved with drugs, they usually begin with
alcohol, and then move to smoking and stronger drugs, McDonough said.

"You don't see kids doing drugs who don't smoke or drink," McDonough
said.

A lax attitude toward drinking at home doesn't help, McDonough
said.

"We adults give our teens a wink and a nod when it comes to drinking,"
McDonough said. "We accept drinking among as a rite of passage. That's
wrong."

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Five tips to keep your kids off drugs

1. Love them.

2. Give guidance.

3. Enforce guidance.

4. Eat dinner with them twice a week and talk to them.

5. Lead by example.

SOURCE: James R. McDonough, director Florida Drug Control
Office
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MAP posted-by: SHeath(DPFFlorida)