COOPER, STUDENTS IN DENIAL ABOUT DRUG ABUSE

While I do not dispute some of the larger points in Michael Cooper's
DARE column, I think it is pretty clear Cooper and students like him
in the Boone community are simply in denial about the culprit of drug abuse.

How long are people going to blame drug education in grade school for
drug problems, particularly at Appalachian State?

It can certainly be argued that DARE may be ineffective, but that was
fifth grade, people; accountability is a reality of growing up.

I went to Appalachian State my freshman year, and I have never been
around more potheads or drugs than I was then.

Not that I am automatically condoning all of these things, but some
of the lazy people who chose to light a joint rather than go to class
for an hour or do anything productive for that matter have no one to
blame but themselves.

I am especially concerned with Cooper's reference to police officers
as "the lowest of the low" in drug education.

This is reality: getting caught with drugs by a police officer
(especially something other than marijuana) can ruin your life.

Drug legalization is a debate that can go on for years, but since
drugs are not in fact legal, how can you argue hearing about the
legal consequences of drug use is detrimental?

Would Cooper suggest a local crackhead visit fifth graders and talk
about "good trips" versus "bad trips"?

Yes, there is a certain amount of drug use at every school, but it is
not a "significant part of the culture" in every college town as
Cooper assumes.

Whenever I mention the fact that I transferred from Appalachian
State, the inevitable follow-up question is, "Are you a pothead?"

Cooper is perpetuating this ASU stereotype by deflecting the blame
elsewhere-on law enforcement, on the DARE program and on the federal
government.

At the end of the day though, we all have a choice what to make of
ourselves regardless of these influences.

Even the editorial cartoon under the column is a testimony to this
mindset of denial; when is the last time you saw anyone smoking a
joint and reading a book?

To add insult to injury, the cartoon is condescending toward people
who drink and simultaneously sanctifies drug users as "better" and
apparently not ignorant.

I'm not going to argue that drinking is better than smoking pot, but
there is a little irony in this column and cartoon in that the
ignorance lies with these people who are in a constant state of
denial about the realities of illegal drugs.

Appalachian State has a real problem with drug use; how many more
years are we going to have to watch an Appalachian student die due to
drug-related violence in order to realize that?

Mallory Pickard

Duke University