STUDENTS LEARN WHY THEY SHOULD 'JUST SAY NO'

They've always been told "Just Say No" when it comes to drugs. Now
Maryville Middle School students know why.

Eighth-grade students at the school heard testimonials from a group of
young people enrolled in a drug rehabilitation program at the Werner Center
in Louisville.

Three young men, whom Werner Center administration asked be identified by
aliases to protect their confidentiality, told about the troubles and
dangers of taking drugs.

"Without God, without the church, I wouldn't be here today," 17-year-old
Tom said. "It ain't worth it, I'm telling you. It's not worth going down
the path I have."

Calling it "the longest 47 days of my life," Tom described a hellish stay
in a juvenile facility in Chattanooga.

"You've got to fight for your food," he said. "It's pretty pitiful ... the
food wasn't any good anyway, but it's all you had."

Dom, 18, described some of the drug-related injuries he has endured, which
ranged from being stabbed and shot to being thrown from a car.

"I could be dead right now," he said.

Escape Into A Trap

The young men told the class about their first ventures into drug use.

Whatever their initial reasons for taking drugs, which ranged from fitting
in or as an escape from family problems, the three men found that drug use
began to dominate their lives.

"I'd be taking drugs I didn't even know what they were," Dom said.

Even getting put in juvenile detention didn't make the addiction go away,
he said.

"I was shaking and I couldn't eat nothing," Dom said. "All I was worrying
about was getting high and holding my own."

Wellness teacher Maria Coulter said she appreciated what the three young
men did for her students.

"They are sweet kids and are very concerned about helping and wanting to
get their messages out," she said.

"We all were nervous," Dom said. "We all had butterflies, but I like to be
able to come out here and share what I've been through with all these kids."

The Werner Center is operated by the Helen Ross McNabb Center.

It provides residential and outpatient chemical dependency rehabilitation
for children age 13 to 18. The 24-bed facility is located on 39 acres at
3845 Holston College Road.

The stay at the facility has helped the young men. All three said they
regretted their involvement with drugs.

"I would have treated my family better because when you're using, you don't
care how you treat them," Dom said. "All you care about is getting high."

"I've hurt my mom, not physically but emotionally," Tom said.

Pocketbook Penalty

Drugs have a financial cost as well. Without drugs, Dom said he could have
spent his money on better things.

"I'd buy me a new car," he said. "I'd probably have enough money to buy a
Mercedes or a Cadillac."

The men offered advice to the students about how to deal with their problems.

"There's always somebody out there that cares for you," Rick, 17, said. "Go
talk to them."

There is no easy way to walk away from drugs once addicted, Dom said.

"You've got to take it one day at a time," he said. "Everybody relapses in
getting clean. Everybody makes mistakes."

It's very important to find good friends to avoid becoming involved in
drugs, Tom said.

"You can't hang around people that use and not use," he said. "If you go
into a barbershop and hang around, you're going to end up getting a haircut."

Werner Center Director Barbara Davis praised the program.

"It gives the kids a chance to go in and do a little preventive maintenance
on some of the other kids by telling their stories and giving them a peer
perspective on what drugs have done to their life," she said.