NEW APPROACHES NEEDED FOR DRUG PROGRAMS

To the Editor:

In his letter entitled "A plea for help in ridding city of drugs,"
Intelligencer Journal, April 3, 2001, teenager Joshua M. Rinier of
Lancaster properly asked "Where are the parents?"

Those working with heroin users in the Lancaster and Reading areas report a
sharp increase among Whites and Latinos and especially young white
teenagers. Most people think of drug abuse by kids as being an inner city
problem but use and sale are more prevalent in the suburbs. We all have
good reason to be disturbed.

Many parents and schools rely upon the youth drug prevention program D. A.
R. E., which claims to serve 80% of the nation's school districts. Yet
several published studies have determined the D. A. R. E. program to have
little if any positive effect and may even be harmful. As reported in the
New York Times, February 1, 2001, and elsewhere, D. A. R. E. leadership
recently acknowledged its own concerns about the effectiveness of its
programs and is experimenting with prototypes that they hope will achieve
positive results.

Many feel that D. A. R. E. 's commitment to total abstinence, in other
words "Just say no," and failure to include harm reduction content have
undermined its long term persuasiveness and usefulness. Others suggests
that treating marijuana the same as hard drugs is so blatantly contrary to
the observations of teenagers that they assume that D. A. R. E. is also
incorrect in its warnings against cocaine and heroin. Thus they may
foolishly experiment with those far more dangerous drugs. Others point out
that using police as spokespersons for D. A. R. E. may have an off-putting
effect upon those who may be most in need of counseling.

Fortunately there are programs elsewhere that have been favorably
evaluated. One is the independently sponsored C. A. D. E. program in
Philadelphia that provides trained social workers one day a week in
selected inner city schools to work in a practical manner with grammar
school students, their teachers, counselors and principals over several
years. Its workers are popular with students and provide one-on-one
confidential counseling for youngsters at risk.

A useful synopsis concerning the effectiveness of prevention programs has
been posted by the Surgeon General and can be found at
www.surgeongeneral.gov/library/youthviolence/chapter5/sec4.html.

Programs that include counseling of parents on how to interact with their
youngsters appear most promising. Many parents are the product of
dysfunctional homes. They are eager to help their kids but they lack the
know-how. They welcome respectful, constructive assistance.

People turn to drugs, prescribed and illegal, to feel better. Research
suggests that educating parents, providing kids with after school
activities, and assisting children to achieve their full scholastic
potential are probably the best ways to prevent use of drugs, including
tobacco (430,000 deaths in the US annually), alcohol (110,000 deaths in the
US annually), abuse of prescription and illicit drugs (17,000 a year), and
marijuana (no deaths in the US annually.)

In short, the drug problem is a symptom of wider societal problems. To stem
the tide of tobacco, alcohol, and other drug abuse in Lancaster County, we
must adopt a realistic and holistic approach to societal problems and not
rely on "Just say no" and the criminal justice system.

As Joshua Rinier says: "We need to join together to put an end to this
endless destruction of this once-good neighborhood."

Robert E. Field
Co-Chair, Common Sense for Drug Policy
1377-C
Spencer Avenue, Lancaster, PA 17603
www.csdp.org