CADAC SORRY PARENTS GET INFORMATION THEY WANTED

We are writing in response to letters that have been written about the
workshop "It's not JUST Pot! Facts about marijuana and other drugs."

Our group, the Community Alcohol and Drug Action Committee (CADAC), has
been sponsoring a 10 workshop series, Community Voices, on drug and alcohol
education free to the community. CADAC is a community-based group
consisting of agencies and citizens interested in reducing harm associated
with drug and alcohol use in our community.

This particular workshop was a follow up to a previous workshop, where
parents requested more factual information about various drugs. The
workshop was intended to provide community members, especially parents and
youth with factual information on various drugs and to counter misinformation.

As stated in two of the letters, a small group of people who identified
themselves as having a pro-marijuana agenda also attended. They proceeded
to counter the factual information that our presenters were giving and led
the evening into a debate of the merits of marijuana use.

Even when the presenters moved the program onto other drugs and their
effects - this group would return to their view of marijuana. It was
discouraging and disruptive to the larger group that attended to gain
information. It was disheartening that this small group would use a
community education session to propagate their political agenda and
disseminate misinformation. The last two letters expressed a pro view of
marijuana use, one using studies from the 1940's and the other stating
"that cannabis is a safe, effective and benign medicine."

Although we disagree with statements in these articles, our groups' purpose
is not to debate the medicinal effects of marijuana. We believe all drugs
even legal ones like alcohol and medications can be misused. The idea of
people, especially youth, self medicating when stressed or upset or using
any medication, whether it is safe, effective, and benign for recreational
purposes is one of our main concerns. How do people learn to cope with
every day events and problem solve if they resort to a drug to make them
feel better?

CADAC would like to thank the community members who attended our workshops.
We have been very impressed with the interest that has been shown by the
community to learn more about the misuse of alcohol and drugs in our
community. We want to express our concern for the people who attended to
gain more information in the hope of communicating and parenting their
children more effectively. You did not gain that benefit, and for this we
are sorry. We are planning parent information nights at the middle schools
and high schools. We plan to present the information that we were unable to
the night of the "It's not JUST Pot!" workshop. We hope to see many of the
people who attend the workshop as well as many of your friends who you may
have told about it.

We didn't have the opportunity to discuss that parents are a key factor in
drug and alcohol prevention.

Denise Krivokuca

on behalf of CADAC