ARMING CHILDREN WITH INFORMATION FIRST STEP IN SAFETY LESSON

As a businessman active in Luzerne County for almost 40 years and a
longtime drug harm reduction activist, I would like to add some
thoughts concerning how to protect our children to the commentary
published on Nov. 28 by William Kashatus entitled, "Time to get
serious about heroin epidemic."

I can best accomplish this through the following unsolicited recent
letter from a student graduating from college to his mother, a public
health specialist:

Dear Mom,

It has been eight years since I entered high school on the heels of
your famous advice about drugs: "Johnny be skeptical and, most of
all, be safe." Although I'd like to tell you that I never needed your
advice because I never encountered drugs, I'd prefer to be as honest
with you as you have been with me.

Just as you predicted, I spent high school and college navigating a
highly experimental teenage drug culture. While some of the
substances that I encountered were illegal, many were not. Because
you explained that a drug's legality does not mean that it is better
or worse for me, I approached every substance with skepticism,
moderation and common sense.

Our household mantra of "safety first" guided me through a maze of
difficult decisions, particularly in college where alcohol use and
abuse is widespread. Because you didn't lie or exaggerate the risks
of drug use, I took your warnings seriously. I always made plans for
sober transportation. I refused to leave friends alone if they were
highly intoxicated. And I was never afraid to call home if I found
myself in a dangerous situation.

Of course you advised me not to use drugs, but as an expert in the
field, you knew that I was likely to experiment. Most parents panic
in response to this likelihood, but you and Dad remained levelheaded:
You didn't impose rigid rules that were bound to be broken, and you
didn't bombard me with transparent scare tactics.

Instead you encouraged me to think critically and carefully about
drug use. When I inquired, you armed me with truthful, scientifically
based information from which I could make my own decisions. This was
excellent practice for adulthood, and we built a loving relationship
based on trust and truth.

Mom, your work does so much more than teach parents how to talk to
their kids about drugs. Your work keeps parents and kids
communicating at a time when most kids shut their parents out. Our
relationship is a perfect example.

For never ceasing to communicate with me, even when I tried to shut
the door on you, and for tirelessly keeping me, my sisters, and so
many other kids safe, thank you.

Robert Edwin Field

Co-chairman

Common Sense for Drug Policy

Lancaster