Pubdate: Tue, 01 May 2012
Source: Daily Record (Wooster, OH)
Copyright: 2012 The Daily Record
Contact:  http://www.the-daily-record.com
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/3440
Author: Marc Kovac

TEENS WALK TO SHOW 'MAJORITY' REFRAINS FROM DRUGS

COLUMBUS -- Ma-nila Taylor, a junior at Warren G. Harding High 
School, made the three-hour bus trip from Trumbull County to the Ohio 
Statehouse on Monday to share one message: Don't do drugs.

"Your life is more important than wasting it on drugs and alcohol and 
smoking," the 17-year-old said. "It's more important to make 
something of yourself, and staying drug-free, you will be able to be 
successful in life."

She was one of several hundred teens who rallied in Columbus, walking 
nearly a mile through the downtown business district to Capitol 
Square to draw attention to "the majority" of young people who 
refrain from using drugs, cigarettes and alcohol.

The event was organized by the Ohio Youth-Led Prevention Network and 
the Drug Free Action Alliance, with participation of schools across 
the state, Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine and Orman Hall, director 
of the Ohio Department of Alcohol and Drug Addiction Services.

The group chanted and sang on the west steps of the Statehouse and 
listened to testimonials on the importance of avoiding illicit substances.

"The attorney general can talk about drugs, and the governor and the 
principal or the teacher, but it's much more effective when you do 
that, peer to peer, student to student, teenager to teenager," DeWine 
told the crowd. "... Everyday in Ohio, we lose four people who die of 
an accidental overdose of drugs. ... What you're doing frankly is the 
most effective thing, and that is speaking out and talking to other 
students in your class, other students in your school."

Hall, who heads a state agency that helps residents with addiction 
issues, added, "We have a lot of work to do. Drugs and alcohol are 
tremendous problems in our society. We know that you are the 
drug-free majority. Let's make sure that you are not the silent 
drug-free majority."

Taylor Bennington, a freshman at Wooster High School, said drugs are 
a problem among his classmates, particularly marijuana obtained from 
friends or even parents.

"Drugs and alcohol are becoming a major problem at Wooster High 
School, and I believe it's time to stop them," he said. "... It's 
getting worse, and I think it's time we take it seriously."

He added, "You shouldn't do it because it's harmful to your health. 
It's worse to smoke marijuana than it is to smoke tobacco. And that's 
what you've got to tell them."
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom