PREVENTION EFFECTIVE IN WAR ON DRUGS

When former President Reagan passed away recently, I was reminded of
his devoted wife's message on drugs when he was president. It was
quite simply "Just Say No." For a number of youth, this message
worked, but as time has a way of telling its own truth, many people
needed something else besides the "Just Say No" message because drugs,
like alcohol, meth, crack cocaine, marijuana and prescription drug
abuse continues to be an issue in our county as well as the state and
the nation.

Attend a local baseball or football game. Attend a soccer match, a
local beauty pageant, or any event where the parents of youth attend
and ask a parent if they know of someone who has been touched by the
horrendous effects of drug abuse. Ask our teenager in the schools. Ask
members of your local church, or have morning coffee at one of the
local stores in our county and ask that question. You already know the
answer.

There is an old saying -- "an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of
cure." Recently, the four school systems in Jackson County completed
the science-based Project Northland. This anti-drug curriculum
utilized peer-led experiential activity-driven learning strategies to
support a "no use" drug message for our youth. More than 3,400
students in 130 sixth- and seventh-grade classroom settings
participated in this curriculum.

The scientific data being gathered all over the country, as well as in
our county, states, "Prevention works." Prevention is like a hammer
and nail. You drive the nail again and again until it is all the way
in the wood. Prevention is a deterrent. It is driving the point of
what drugs will do to a child, to a teen, to an adult, to a family and
to a community.

Many thanks to our teachers, school counselors and school
administrators for taking the time and energy to provide this valuable
service to our children in Jackson County.

And, many thanks to the justice court judges who are elected to
enforce the underage drinking laws, the youth court judge, drug
counselors, policemen, Sheriff's department, local industry and the
men on the Jackson County Board of Supervisors who have each taken a
piece of this drug puzzle and are tackling the issues at various levels.

This drug issue has the appearance of being insurmountable, but step
by step, as a team and a community, we can have a profound impact on
the drug dilemma in our county as we continue to drive the message
about drugs and deliver the message in countless ways through the
voices of many people.

Jim Yancey Prevention Director Jackson County Children's Coalition