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Cannabis Campaigners' Guide News Database result:
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US: Kids Offer Sobering Look At Illegal Drug And Alcohol Use Misti Snow, Star Tribune Minneapolis Star-Tribune (MN) Monday 08 Jan 2001 Pubdate: Mon, 08 Jan 2001 Source: Minneapolis Star-Tribune (MN) Copyright: 2001 Star Tribune Contact: opinion@startribune.com Website: http://www.startribune.com/ Author: Misti Snow, Star Tribune Note: Additional research by Sondra Schroeder-Davis. KIDS OFFER SOBERING LOOK AT ILLEGAL DRUG AND ALCOHOL USE Ask almost any young person why some preteens and teens use illegal drugs and alcohol, and they'll reel off enough reasons to make any drug educator proud and any parent worried: depression, loneliness, peer pressure, thrills, escapism, popularity, rebellion, confusion, family problems, curiosity, fun. Most can just as readily recite some of the dangers: addiction, disease, arrest, death. Yet large numbers of students continue to use illegal drugs and alcohol, routinely or occasionally, according to the nearly 8,000 responses to this month's Mindworks. Mindworks first asked young people why some students use illegal drugs and alcohol, and what adults can do to help prevent such use, in December 1988. While most of this year's themes remain similar to those of 1988, a few significant changes appeared: Most students now include cigarette smoking as a form of drug use. A new term is common -- "anti-drug" -- used by those with a strong personal reason for not using drugs. And advertising and the entertainment media are more frequently named as major factors in luring teens to drugs. In general, most elementary-aged students listed the well-known reasons given for drug use, such as peer pressure, popularity and depression. They vowed that they would never, ever use. Many of the fourth-through sixth-graders said they had received drug education, usually DARE ( Drug Abuse Resistance Education ) and they spoke highly of such programs and recommended that the programs continue through middle school and high school. Sarah Graham, 10, of St. Paul, wrote "I know for a fact that some of the fifth-and sixth-graders will grow up to be drinkers and drug takers, but the DARE program most likely stopped many people from even thinking about doing drugs and drinking." A reason why some of those students will go on to use is because as students age, pressure increases. Most commonly, the pressure to use begins at about middle school, although some students said their first encounters with drugs occurred when they were as young as 8. That exposure increases and is especially strong in high school, when parties become commonplace and kids are more rebellious. Eighth-grader Rachel Rydel of Maplewood imagined the scene: "You're at a party. This is the best party you've been to. The music is pounding and the house is packed. All around you, your friends are dancing, laughing and having a great time. Suddenly there is a cheer. You begin to see beer cans appear in many people's hands. All of a sudden, a can is placed in your hands. You hold it uncertainly, and there is a flutter in your heart. ... What do you say?" Many teens said the need to belong underlies the appeal of drug use. High schooler Joe Felion of St. Paul wrote, "If you ask an adolescent what the most important thing to them is, the answer will probably not be family, school or religion. More often than not the answer will be friends. ... It is no surprise that they will do anything to fit in." Many said teens use drugs or alcohol to relieve stress. With the pressures of school, part-time jobs, extracurricular activities, broken families, failed relationships and demanding parents, "getting away" can be appealing. Kevin Boyer, 16, of Brooklyn Park wrote, "The kids feel they need to forget their problems for a while and get high or drunk. Some people think if you do it, the problems in your life will go away. That's not true, but if you forget your problems for at least a little while, isn't that better than not forgetting your problems at all?" Some admitted that they use to get back at parents -- parents who have divorced, parents who are too busy with work, overprotective parents who make every decision for their teens. Rachel Anderson, 12, of Richfield, wrote, "Teens and preteens don't get enough attention. These days some families don't even eat a meal together. The parents are so busy with work they don't have time for kids." Easy accessibility is also a factor, said those who asserted that practically every teen in every town knows how to buy drugs. Often, said several, the suppliers are older siblings, older friends or even parents. A few said they know kids who smoke dope or drink with their moms or dads. Scores of small-town and rural teens insisted that they use because there is nothing else to do. A 17-year-old girl from Madelia, Minn., wrote, "My parents drink when they are having fun. Since my parents are having fun doing it, then why can't I have fun and do it? Alcohol just makes a little boring town more exciting." Parents Play A Key Role Preventing teen drug use is complicated, but not impossible, said most. Parents are key to raising teens who either won't use or whose use will be minimal. Open communication is essential and both preteens and teens pleaded for parents to not lecture, not yell, not assume, but instead to talk calmly and to listen. Some said that parents should institute curfews, chaperone parties, keep their own liquor locked up and know their children's friends. Parents also should be aware if their teens seem depressed. Several said adults who supply teens with drugs should be severely punished; others wish for sophisticated technology that could detect fake IDs. Schools could have more locker searches, backpack searches and mandatory drug tests, said some. Perhaps more stress management courses for teens would be helpful, suggested one. "One way to prevent drug and alcohol use is to stop advertising it to us," wrote eighth-grader Janessa Ide of Gaylord, Minn. "We see it everywhere in magazines, on TV and on billboards. No wonder so many kids do it. It's like they're telling us to." Drug education is helpful, said most, but the most potent influence is hearing from other teens or adults who have had bad experiences when using drugs. Some said that simply watching their friends behave foolishly at parties and throw up afterwards is enough to curb their curiosity. The lessons have come hard for those who have watched drug-abusing friends or siblings as their personalities change, grades plummet and dreams evaporate. Some have lost loved ones to addiction or drunken driving; a couple said they have brothers who are in jail for selling drugs. Perhaps adults could better understand the teens' situation if they tried to answer these questions posed by Carissa Sloan, 13, of Maplewood: "Can you remember the first time you tried drugs? What were you going through at the time? Chances are you experimented and can answer those questions. If you haven't, that's great, but what held you back from using?"
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