WE CAN DO MANY THINGS TO DETER KIDS FROM DRUGS

The mother of Brittney Chambers, the teen-ager who died recently from
taking Ecstasy, made two disturbing comments to the press:

1. "This could happen to any family." I strongly disagree. I was 16 once
and had many opportunities to use drugs, yet I didn't dare because I was
into sports. Intense involvement in athletic competition, especially from
an early age, is a highly effective deterrent to drug use. Statistics don't
lie.

Another effective deterrent is peer-pressure resistance programs. Through
role-playing and improvising, kids are trained how to turn down offers of
drugs. Was Brittney involved in either of these two deterrents?

A third promising deterrent is routinely showing your children newspaper
and magazine clippings of teen drug tragedies, and then discussing them in
depth, rather than casually. Was this ever done in the Chambers' household?

2. "I didn't even know Ecstasy could kill you." How could she not know
this? It's been in the news for months! I have no medical background yet
I've known since adolescence that any drug is potentially lethal.

Many kids who try drugs are well-mannered, polite and truly want to do the
right thing. This means they'd certainly be agreeable to taking
peer-pressure resistance programs and they'd certainly read those newspaper
clippings.

Otherwise, if we're to conclude that things like this can happen to just
any kid, then why bother teaching kids right from wrong? Why not do away
with rules, consequences, lessons, mentoring programs, peer-resistance
workshops, praise for making the right decisions, the whole works? The idea
that kids can't be drug-proofed is hogwash!

Christine Noel

Clear Creek