KUDOS FOR LAURA LERNER; DRUG CULTURE IS DIFFICULT ISSUE FOR YOUNG PEOPLE

I would like to express my admiration and congratulations to Laura
Lerner, co-editor of Summit High School's newspaper, Tiger Tracks, for
choosing to report on the negative effects of marijuana use.

It is a difficult and controversial subject for both young people as
well as adults, and I would like to commend Laura's bravery for
speaking her truth.

I believe that we have a drug and alcohol abuse problem in our
community and that it is adversely affecting many of our young people.

I feel that the best way we can address this issue is with open
communication - letting the skeletons out of the closet, so to speak.

From personal experience, I know that our young people are under
tremendous pressure to participate in the drug culture.

Not only are drugs easily obtainable in our community, but the
opportunities to use them without proper consequences are also abundant.

We should not feel guilty or ashamed by this problem, (unless of
course we are using drugs with our children), but I believe that more
and different action is needed.

The typical anti-drug lecture is falling on deaf ears. Unfortunately,
we just sound like "well-intentioned geeks whose brains have been
scrubbed spotless by hypocritical antidrug protagonists," ("Beyond the
Yellow Brick Road," Bob Meehan, p. 108).

I am hopeful that as a community, by opening these lines of
communication and acknowledging that our children are struggling, we
might begin to impart a different value system for them as well as
ourselves.

By taking action, I believe we can return to our children the
opportunity to earn their highs. Let's also remember that drugs can
make sick people well, but they also make well people sick.

Becky Richmond

Summit County