Source: Los Angeles Times Editorial

Contact: letters@latimes.com
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More Than Just Saying No
Studies on youth drug use indicate a broader approach is needed

Skeptics might understandably question the purported
oneyear doubling of teenage drug use found in a study to be
released next month by the National Center on Addiction and
Substance Abuse. After all, the 12yearolds who were asked if
they knew of a friend or classmate using LSD, cocaine or heroin
could have been reporting a friend's boasting as fact.

Harder to question, however, is the conclusion of several recent
studies by the national center and others that show a longer rise in
the number of teenagers using drugs (from 1.1 million in 1992 to 2.4
million in 1995) and a decline in the age when they start to use
those drugs (the study says children are beginning to smoke and
bingedrink at younger ages than ever). One reason for the nation's
failure to successfully combat teenage drug use was suggested in
another study, released last week at the American Psychological Assn.
convention. It found that DARE, the country's most widely used drug
prevention program, had no longterm effect on students' use of
alcohol, cigarettes or marijuana. More than a dozen studies have
reached similar conclusions, leading some cities, like Seattle and
Oakland, to drop the program. The solution is not to dump DARE's
"just say no" message, however, but to supplement it with proven
intervention strategies. One model is Santa Barbara's "Fighting
Back." Begun in 1990, when youths in that county were using alcohol
and cocaine at a rate 30% higher than the state average, the program
has reduced rates to or below the state average. It uses peer
counseling and programs wherein teachers, judges and others spot
problems like depression that lead to substance abuse. To properly
fund such programs, Congress would have to revise current laws that
prevent federal substance abuse funds from being distributed to
programs that stray in any way from the "just say no" message.
Finally, we must realize that a teenager's drug use is usually the
product of community and family influences as well as one kid's bad
decision. Fashion and other magazines continue to glamorize
holloweyed, razorthin "heroin chic" models. Parents too often
cynically conclude that their youngsters will inevitably use drugs.
Adult use of prescription antidepressants has skyrocketed. Given
these sorts of social messages, young people need to be counseled
wisely, not merely lectured to just say no.