Pubdate: Sun, 20 Mar 2005
Source: Eagle-Tribune, The (MA)
Copyright: 2005 The Eagle-Tribune
Contact:  http://www.eagletribune.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/129
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/youth.htm (Youth)

EDUCATION IS KEY IN FIGHTING DRUG ABUSE

OUR VIEW Of the 1,500 students from seventh grade through
high school who took the survey, 19 percent -- nearly one in five --
have tried a hard drug such as cocaine, LSD, heroin or ecstasy.

The numbers from a Haverhill survey of drug use among teens were
startling. Of the 1,500 students from seventh grade through high
school who took the survey, 19 percent -- nearly one in five -- have
tried a hard drug such as cocaine, LSD, heroin or ecstasy. That's up
from 15 percent in 2002 and 17 percent in 2003. And 13 percent said
they had used one of those drugs in the past 30 days. Those numbers
are moving in the wrong direction. We have to convince kids that
playing with these drugs is deadly.

Essex County District Attorney Jonathan Blodgett believes education,
not random drug testing, is the approach to take. Blodgett wants to
educate young people on the dangers of drugs, including prescription
painkillers such as OxyContin and other opiates. Dr. Patricia B.
Cronin of the North Essex Prevention Coalition, who oversaw
administering of the survey at the high school, agrees. We've reported
on the scourge of heroin addiction and the havoc it wreaks on young
lives. Sure, kids have all heard the basic message that drugs are bad.
But have they really seen what addiction can do to people's lives,
people they might know like their friends and classmates?

We need to get to kids early and not just provide the basic anti-drug
message but shock them with the gory details. Show them the families
split apart, the drug-related suicides, the promising careers thrown
away for a brief high. It's a tough message to deliver. Kids in
general believe they will live forever, that they're immune to the
misfortunes that befall others. That's why it's especially important
to teach them how easy it is to get hooked. Let them hear stories from
others who thought they could try heroin just once. Drug testing may
be one part of an anti-drug effort. But it alone won't solve the
problem. A drug test doesn't stop anyone from using drugs. A kid who
tests positive has already made the wrong choice. We have to get to
the kids before they make those mistakes.

Parents have to get behind the effort for more drug education. They
need to contact their legislators and call for the funding needed to
support programs like the one Blodgett advocates.

If we don't make this effort, we can expect the percentages of
students using hard drugs to climb even higher.
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