PARENTS, BE THE RESOURCE -- KNOW THE ANSWERS

Most youngsters get their information about drugs from secondary
sources such television, other kids, parents and magazines, according
to Frank White, assistant professor in UND's Department of Sociology.

"Although they may be good, they are not first-hand," said White, who
teaches classes on social problems, drugs and society.

"I've taught this for 12 years," White said, "and it's always a new
prep. It's like a game of golf. You never master it. There are always
new drugs on the market and always a new person who died from a
combination. It's a challenge for me because it's always changing."

White said parents should know the meaning of current drug language.
"Chasing the dragon" and "hash under glass," for example.

"As a parent, if you are up with the language it will give you a
connection with your children," White said. "We don't want to 'how
to.' Instead, we want to be a resource. The more we know the better."

Most of the time it's how drugs are administered that
kills.

"There's no standardization," White said. "Who teaches you how are
your drug taking friends off the street. You don't know what you are
getting."

White does not condone alcohol, but he uses it as an
example.

"In a Miller Lite, you know you are getting one standard ounce of
alcohol," he said. "When you take an illicit drug like heroin,
methamphetamine or cocaine that's not regulated or standardized, you
can get anywhere from 90 percent to 100 percent purity. That's what
gets people into trouble."

The big question: Why?

White said from 1979 to 1997 there was a decline in drug usage. It's
on the upswing again, and peer pressure is still the No. 1 reason
students experiment with drugs.

Other reasons are boredom, rebellion, curiosity, imitation, to escape
the stress of life, the mass media, even watching their drug taking
parents.

"They do it to live for the moment," White said. "Kids are learning
earlier. There's more pressure on grades, the job market, low
self-esteem. It's a complex combination."

White's personal philosophy is that kids are growing up on the
information super highway and right down the center lane are microwave
ovens, fast forward video equipment, sound bites on TV.

"It's such a fast pace," White said, "and they are impatient. Even in
my lectures if my sentences are too long I lose a student's attention."

The big three

The big three drugs for high school age students are:

Cigarettes -- causing 400,000 premature deaths a year.

Alcohol -- responsible for 250,000 premature deaths a
year."

Marijuana -- "Those statistics are harder to get," White
said.

"It's like smoking five cigarettes with all the tar and carcinogens.
You can't use the argument that it should be legalized because it's
five times worse than cigarettes. If we could solve those three, we'd
have beaten 98 percent of our drug problem in America."

White said we should not look at drugs "as a United States problem,
but as a Grand Forks problem. Kids need positive role models and
parents who are educated on good refusal skills."

One thing a parent should never, never do, is lie if a son or daughter
asks if they ever smoked marijuana.

"You can't lose credibility," stresses White, who offers tips on how
to keep it honest.

"If you did, say, 'Yes, but we didn't know about the dangers.
Marijuana is much more potent now. It's way more dangerous. We didn't
have the education you have.' "

"If your kids find you credible, they'll listen to you. If you lie to
them or scare them, you lose credibility. To have a line of
communication you have to be credible. To get credible you become
knowledgeable. Raise your knowledge level. Education is more important
than ever because there are more drugs out there."