`SAFE USE' DRUG PHILOSOPHY IS A STEP BACKWARD

As if parents didn't have enough to worry about. Now comes something
called ``reality-based'' drug education, and it's being pushed by the
people who want us to legalize drugs.

These programs call for educators to teach children that they can have
``healthy relationships'' with marijuana, PCP, cocaine, crack and
heroin, and that they can use these drugs ``safely.''

This approach to drug education is one thing that drove adolescent
drug use up in the 1970s to the highest levels in history, from less
than 1 percent in 1962 to 34 percent of adolescents, 65 percent of
high school seniors and 70 percent of young adults by 1979.

High levels of drug use among teens also produced high levels of drug
abuse, drug addiction and drug-related deaths. By 1979, 1 in 9 high
school seniors smoked marijuana daily. Many needed drug treatment to
stop. And so many teens died from drug and alcohol-related causes,
their age group's life span actually decreased, while that of all
other age groups lengthened.

In response, outraged parents organized some 4,000 drug-prevention
groups nationwide. One of their first battles was to get rid of
``responsible use'' messages and replace them with clear, consistent
no-use messages in drug-education programs, particularly those paid
for with tax dollars.

The result? Between 1979 and 1992, regular drug use went down by half
among all ages (from 25 million Americans to 12 million) and by
two-thirds among adolescents and young adults.

Now legalization proponents want to change that. The Lindesmith Center
and the San Francisco Medical Society held a ``Just Say Know''
conference in San Francisco recently to initiate the effort to replace
``no-use'' drug education with ``safe-use'' programs in schools.

The Lindesmith Center is part of billionaire George Soros' Open Society
Institute in New York. Soros has funded drug-legalization efforts for a
decade. Publicly, proponents deny they want to legalize drugs. They say they
just want to ``reform'' the drug laws. Now they want to reform drug-free
education. The Lindesmith Center recommends the book ``Chocolate to
Morphine: Everything You Need to Know About Mind-Altering Drugs.'' The book
claims there is no such thing as a good or bad drug, just good and bad
relationships with drugs. It says we must teach children how to have good
relationships with harmful, addictive drugs.

The Lindesmith Center introduced its new publication at the conference,
called ``Safety-First: A Reality-Based Approach to Teens, Drugs, and Drug
Education.'' The pamphlet advises parents to ``keep the channels of
communication open, find ways to keep the conversation going, and listen,
listen, listen.''

The pamphlet also tells parents to encourage kids to ``be honest''
about their drug experiences and that ``there must be no negative
repercussions for their input and honesty.''

Unfortunately, some hard-working, affluent, church-going parents in
Georgia took this advice. Their teenagers did what they wanted with no
negative repercussions from mom or dad. Their 12- and 13-year-olds
were free to smoke, get drunk, get high and engage in group sex.
Nobody told them no.

The kids got syphilis. One died driving home drunk from spring break.
Another stabbed a friend. They are called ``The Lost Children of
Rockdale County,'' and the TV news show ``Frontline'' introduced them
to us on PBS this past month.

What can parents do? Set limits for your kids. Set consequences if
they break your rules. Enforce consequences if rules are broken. Love
them enough to be their parents, not their best friends. Be the adults
they need to protect them from the world's dangers. And fight to keep
``safe use'' drug education out of your schools.

Or be prepared to watch a Frontline sequel a few years from now on
``The Lost Children of America.''