MOTHER'S LETTER URGES WARINESS TO DRUGS

The following letter by California-based drug researcher Marsha
Rosenbaum, director of the Lindesmith Center West in San Francisco,
first appeared in the San Francisco Chronicle in 1998:

A MOTHER'S ADVICE ABOUT DRUGS

Dear Johnny:

This fall you will be entering high school and like most teenagers,
you'll have to navigate drugs. As most parents, I would prefer that
you not use drugs. However, I realize that despite my wishes, you
might experiment.

I will not use scare tactics to deter you. Instead, having spent the
past 25 years researching drug use, abuse and policy, I will tell you
a little about what I have learned, hoping this will lead you to make
wise choices. My only concern is your health and safety.

When people talk about "drugs," they are generally referring to
illegal substances such as marijuana, cocaine, methamphetamine
(speed), psychedelic drugs (LSD, ecstasy, "schrooms") and heroin.

These are not the only drugs that make you high. Alcohol, cigarettes
and many other substances (like glue) cause intoxication of some sort.
The fact that one drug or another is illegal does not mean one is
better or worse for you. All of them temporarily change the way you
perceive things and the way you think.

Some people will tell you that drugs feel good, and that's why they
use them. But drugs are not always fun. Cocaine and methamphetamine
speed up your heart; LSD can make you feel disoriented; alcohol
intoxication impairs driving; cigarette smoking leads to addiction and
sometimes lung cancer; and people sometimes die suddenly from taking
heroin. Marijuana does not often lead to physical dependence or
overdose, but it does alter the way people think, behave and react.

I have tried to give you a short description of the drugs you might
encounter. I choose not to try to scare you by distorting information
because I want you to have confidence in what I tell you. Although I
won't lie to you about their effects, there are many reasons for a
person your age to not use drugs or alcohol.

First, being high on marijuana or any other drug often interferes with
normal life: it is difficult to retain information while high, so
using it, especially daily, affects your ability to learn.

Second, if you think you might try marijuana, please wait until you
are older. Adults with drug problems often started using at a very
early age.

Finally, your father and I don't want you to get into trouble. Drug
and alcohol use is illegal for you and the consequences of being
caught are huge. In the United States, the number of arrests for
possession of marijuana has more than doubled in the past six years.

Adults are serious about "zero tolerance." If caught, you could be
arrested, expelled from school, barred from playing sports, lose your
driver's licence, denied a college loan and/or rejected for college.

Despite my advice to abstain, you may one day choose to experiment. I
will say again that this is not a good idea, but if you do, I urge you
to learn as much as you can and use common sense. There are many
excellent books and references, including the Internet, that give you
credible information about drugs. You can, of course, always talk to
me. If I don't know the answers to your questions, I will try to help
you find them.

If you are offered drugs, be cautious. Watch how people behave, but
understand that everyone responds differently even to the same
substance. If you do decide to experiment, be sure you are surrounded
by people you can count upon. Plan your transportation and under no
circumstances drive or get into a car with anyone else who has been
using alcohol or other drugs. Call us or any of our close friends any
time, day or night, and we will pick you up, no questions asked and no
consequences.

And please, Johnny, use moderation. It is impossible to know what is
contained in illegal drugs because they are not regulated. The
majority of fatal overdoses occur because young people do not know the
strength of the drugs they consume or how they combine with other
drugs. Please do not participate in drinking contests, which have
killed too many young people. Whereas marijuana by itself is not
fatal, too much can cause you to become disoriented and sometimes
paranoid. And of course, smoking can hurt your lungs, later in life
and now.

Johnny, as your father and I have always told you about a range of
activities (including sex), think about the consequences of your
actions before you act. Drugs are no different. Be skeptical and, most
of all, be safe.

Love, Mom.