ANTI DRUG CAMPAIGN DOLES OUT DIME BAGS

It is not often that high school do gooders have reason to consult
with their drug dealing peers on where to procure 600 tiny ziplock
bags.

But that is exactly what Mary Corcoran and fellow students resorted to
in order to launch what they called "the baggie campaign," an
innovative, anti marijuana event held last month at the Academy of
American Studies in Long Island City.

Corcoran and her peers are members of their school's chapter of SADD,
a national organization once dedicated solely to drunken driving
awareness and prevention. In recent times, the group's mandate has
expanded to cover an array of social issues for teens, making it more
pertinent to urban schools.

The acronym now stands for Students Against Destructive Decisions.
Corcoran has headed the group for the last two years, though it had
become somewhat predictable, even ineffectual. They would put up
posters, and hold bake sales to cover the costs of posters and
markers, Corcoran recalled. This year, they decided to make a
statement--and make it loud.

"Kids were like, 'what is this?'" Corcoran recalled on the day she and
her fellow SADD members handed out dime bags--printed with skull and
crossbones on the back--to nearly every student. Inside each bag was a
single Lifesaver candy and a fact about marijuana along the lines of:
Marijuana compromises the ability to learn and remember
information.

"I think it was an awesome concept," senior Mark McCormack wrote in an
e mail about the campaign. "It was edgy. We need to do more edgy
things, because it will never go unnoticed," he added.

The idea also raised a few eyebrows among the faculty. "Some people
worried about the representation of the bag," explained James Randle,
coordinator of student activities.

It was exactly that representation--the traditional vehicle for $10
worth of marijuana--that piqued students' interest enough to make the
message stick, said Victor Alia, the 17 year old senior who hatched
the idea at a brainstorming session.

"They (the students) would open the bags and read the facts, and
that's kind of the whole point of it," he said.

Randle commends the students of SADD for giving up their lunch periods
each Wednesday to plan activities, many of which are more traditional
than the baggie campaign.

On Dec. 20, they kept the lights on in the building until 11 p.m. as
part of a national day raising awareness of the dangers of drunken
driving. They have also welcomed speakers from Alcoholics and
Narcotics Anonymous to speak in the classroom.

The chapter was founded in 2003 by a student whose family was affected
by a drunken driver. Under Corcoran's lead, it has enjoyed renewed
interest and stronger membership than ever before.

Randle noted SADD is one of the more autonomous student groups in the
school, taking little direction from advisers. He also suggests that
their work to shed light on drug use and difficult social issues is
helping combat what he calls "one of the biggest crimes of public
education," or the fact that health education isn't taught in most
city schools until senior year. By that time, he noted, many students
have already been forced to make tough choices.

The S.A.D.D. chapter has already scheduled the baggie campaign for the
next school year. In the meantime, members are working on launching an
alternative Valentine's Day card campaign where students can buy a
bracelet--and a lifelong pledge of friendship--for $1 a piece.