Pubdate: Mon, 10 Mar 2003 Source: Bradenton Herald (FL) Copyright: 2003 Bradenton Herald Contact: http://www.bradenton.com/mld/bradentonherald/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/58 Author: Brenda Katz Note: Brenda Katz is chairperson of the Safe and Drug Free Schools Advisory Committee. LEGALIZATION IS NOT THE ANSWER I didn't want to write about the drug issue and relive that afternoon 30 years ago when the phone rang. I watched my father's face turn pale as he sighed, "Oh, no." My cousin, Terry, had died of an overdose of heroin. More memories crowd into my mind, the mother who told me the horrors of walking through a crack house looking for her teenager, the words I wrote on a card for a friend, "I will whisper soft prayers for you." A little boy without a mom. Never will I erase images of a pleasant, young man who rented from us. The day came when we found the house trashed and cocaine powder splashed across the torn ceiling tile where he had hidden it. Amid the garbage, we found scribbled notes. "I simply cannot quit." My undergraduate work was done in both education and sociology, so it is only natural for me to deal with loss through research. After 30 long years of analyzing information on drugs, I have come to the unshakable conclusion that the answer is not legalization. Several unreliable Web sites fail to explain that heroin and cocaine became illegal because of the direct correlation between the increase of drug use and a marked increase in theft, brutal assault and homicide, due to addiction, not the illegal aspect. By World War II, we had battled the drug epidemic and reduced drug use to a rarity. It was the 1960s and '70s that brought on marijuana, amphetamines, psychedelics and the reappearance of cocaine, accompanied again by a rise in violent crimes. Countries where drugs have been legalized now find their problems compounded. Even policies which hint at working are not conclusive. When citing research from these countries, some use what my sociology instructor called the "Aunt Emily" approach to research. This approach used quotes from a few people, opinions not based on respected studies and facts taken out of context. The result is equal to whatever your "Aunt Emily" just might happen to think on any given day. Also, I say enough with the invalid comparison to alcohol. Any worthwhile discussion of alcohol must confront the problems of severe domestic violence along with fatalities and injuries caused by driving under the influence. Most importantly, proponents of legalization will not address the overwhelming force of addiction. Addiction has no boundaries, legal or illegal. Well-meaning people have said, "Legalize it, tax it and use the money to teach more people not to use it." What drug cartel or dealer is going to happily pay taxes so we can use the money to teach people not to use their product? An underground market would appear overnight. Now we fight addiction to drugs; then we would also fight tax collection, lawsuits involving advertising and the violence of the underground market. Words are powerful, so let's be honest about words. We call it "substance abuse" when we used to call it "using dope." We say it "impairs judgement" when we used to say, "it'll mess you up." Marijuana is perhaps the most misunderstood of all. For instance, some advocate marijuana for medical purposes, while ignoring the outcry of the medical and scientific communities against this step. The 2001 Florida Youth Substance Abuse Survey of more than 8,000 students in grades six through 12 found the use of cocaine, heroin and LSD is down, but the use of marijuana among middle school students is up. The cause is attributed to the perception that marijuana is not harmful. The key word here is perception, because students are not aware that the chemical changes in the brain resulting from this drug are complex and still being analyzed. Mistakenly, they view "psychologically additive" as not really addictive. It is. What about apathy? The person who smokes on Saturdays may not realize that his lousy indifferent feeling on Wednesdays is not the result of his overall life, but the effects of marijuana. How sad not to know. This drug has the potential to cause cancer. Sounds like another product we sell that is legal, doesn't it? Do we really want another "habit-forming" legal product causing cancer? Has taxation eradicated our problems? No. Marijuana is far more harmful than we thought and that is why the Ad Council is now running that exact public message. Education does work, and teenagers today are smarter than most people give them credit for. According to Monitor the Future, a national annual survey of 44,000 eighth-, 10th- and 12th-graders, overall smoking, drinking and drug use is declining. If you think, "every one is doing it," you are hanging out with the wrong people. We, as adults, do not have the right to sit by and allow others to mislead our youths. I didn't want to write about this issue and stir up all that pain. Yet I know that legalization is not the answer, so I have to speak up. Prevention and intervention are the answer. God help the kid who picks up for the first time. Brenda Katz is chairperson of the Safe and Drug Free Schools Advisory Committee. - --- MAP posted-by: Larry Stevens