DRUG OFFICE OFFERS PARENTS SAFE ONLINE SITES FOR TEENS

``... Before the party, we decided to try ecstasy because we heard it was
pretty good. Within 15 minutes, I started sweating, getting nervous. ...
When we got to the party, my insides were burning, so I drank water ...
then I passed out. My extremities were purple, my eyes dilated and I was
dying. ... I died in the ambulance, and they had to perform CPR to revive
me. ... It was the scariest experience of my life, and I vowed never to do
drugs again. Most of the people at the party who saw me have also sworn to
stay straight edge.''

THIS TEENAGER TOLD his story recently to a large group of youngsters he had
never met. He did not tell his story while touring a drug rehabilitation
center or in a speech at his high school. Nor did he reveal it during a
television interview. Instead, he posted it on a teen bulletin board, part
of a groundbreaking new World Wide Web site called freevibe.com where young
people go to express views and vent feelings on issues related to drugs,
peer pressure and making the right choices.

It's time for adults to listen closely and understand the critical need to
reach kids where they are. Increasingly, they are on the Internet. A recent
survey of 10,000 parents by America Online found that one out of four
children was using a computer before age 2; nine out of 10 by age 16.

Computer Economics magazine estimates that six years from now, 77 million
people under age 16 will be using the Internet. The next generation will be
able to ``travel'' around the world in cyberspace long before they can get
drivers' licenses.

The Internet, with all it has to offer - the good and the bad - is having a
profound impact on the lives of our children. The tragic events in Colorado
and elsewhere have sparked intense debate over the power of the Internet
and other media influences. From movies to music to the Web, the country is
increasingly concerned about what our children read, hear and watch -
online and off.

A recent report by the Annenberg Public Policy Center at the University of
Pennsylvania highlighted the uncertainty parents feel about the impact of
the Internet on youth. While 75 percent of the parents surveyed agreed that
the Internet was an important learning resource, 78 percent feared that
their children would stumble upon or seek inappropriate content while online.

As young people spend more and more time online, it is critical that
parents understand the new medium - not just fear it. No parent can always
be there to intercept negative content.

Parents' fears are well-founded. The Internet is full of sites that not
only sell drugs or tell where drugs can be bought, but also promote and
glamorize drug use. The unfiltered Internet is the last remaining market
for pro-drug views that the rest of society has now clearly rejected.

At the same time, parents are far from powerless. One thing they can do is
steer children toward ``safe surfing'' areas, including bulletin boards,
chat rooms and three interactive sites that the Office of National Drug
Control Policy's National Youth Anti-Drug Media Campaign helped develop:
the kid-oriented freevibe.com and projectknow.com, and a new area on
America Online called ``It's Your Life'' on AOL's Kids Only channel (AOL
keyword: Your Life). Parents can also talk to other parents for support and
get information on local resources, where they can go for more information
and help, through the Parents' Drug Resource Center at AOL (keyword: Drug
Help).

The anti-drug campaign and its partners - including AOL, ABC, MTV, ESPN and
others - have embraced the Web, using the Internet to reach young people
where they increasingly work, live and play - and in a voice they can
respect and understand: their own.

The anti-drug campaign is also providing a responsible voice on the
Internet that appeals to young people and their parents and speaks to them
in a way that resonates. The campaign offers a counterbalance to Web sites
that peddle pro-drug and antisocial messages. Freevibe and projectknow talk
about the negative consequences of drug and alcohol abuse and encourage
young people to avoid drugs and put their free time to constructive use.

THE MESSAGE IS getting through - last year drug use among young people from
12 to 17 years of age went down 13 percent. However, we still have
dangerously high levels of drug abuse among young people.

For parents seeking ways to ensure safe online experiences or to
communicate more effectively with kids about important issues, options
include any of these Web sites. Young people can visit these sites to
interact with peers looking for honest and stimulating answers to serious
questions. At the Office of National Drug Control Policy, the Internet surf
is definitely ``up.''

Gen. Barry R. McCaffrey is director of the White House Office of National
Drug Control Policy/ Readers may write to him via e-mail at
ondcp@ncjrs.org, or by writing to 750 17th St. N.W., Washington, D.C.
20503. For more information on the National Youth Anti-Drug Media Campaign,
go to www.mediacampaign.org in the Web.