FAITH ENLISTED IN FIGHT AGAINST TEEN DRUG USE

Former first lady Nancy Reagan led her famous fight against drugs with a
"Just Say No" campaign. That and many other anti-drug programs have been
attempted through the years. Many have had some measure of success. But
there is a continuing need for anti-drug efforts, especially among the
nation's young people.

Enter the Bush administration's plan to take a faith-based approach. The
Office of National Drug Control Policy is now offering guides, brochures
and Web sites to help leaders of religious youth groups teach their members
to avoid marijuana and other drugs.

Not that the news about drug use is all bad. It is not.

Use of several illicit drugs is down, according to "Monitoring the Future,"
an exhaustive survey of eighth-, 10th- and 12-grade students. The report
says that 2002 was a more positive year than in most recent years in terms
of drug use among students.

Of particular concern in recent years has the been use of ecstasy. The many
warnings about the drug appear to be having some success; 2002 was the
first time in recent years that its use among American teenagers dropped.
In general, overall drug and alcohol consumption was in decline.

With such encouraging numbers, some might question the need to continue to
make tackling the drug problems among the young such a high priority. But
when a problem is on the run, that is the time to keep pursuing success and
elimination.

Even with the successful strides made in recent years against the drug
problem, substance abuse still remains high among the nation's teenagers.

According to the same survey: 53 percent have tried an illicit drug by the
time they finish high school; 30 percent have used some illicit drug other
than marijuana by the time they graduate or leave school; and two of those
three have done so in the 12 months prior to the survey. One of the biggest
contributors to the continuing drug problem is the introduction of new
drugs, which are really just a comeback by - or variations of - older
drugs. LSD, methamphetamine, heroin, cocaine, PCP and crack made comebacks
in the past decade after their initial popularity faded.

Alcohol use also remains high among teens. Nearly 80 percent have consumed
alcohol - more than just a few sips - by the end of high school. More than
half of high school seniors and 21 percent of eighth-graders said they had
been drunk at least once in their young lives.

The Bush plan would help mesh the faith community's ability to speak to
moral and spiritual behavior with specific activities directed toward
preventing teen substance abuse. Research suggests that religion still
plays a major role in the life of America's teens. This positions churches,
temples and mosques to make a difference by instilling drug antidotes,
including how to cope with negative peer pressure.

Critics of Bush's direction toward faith-based approach say such
initiatives violate the principles of the separation of church and state.
They do not. In addressing drug use, the administration will offer guides,
brochures and Web information to help youth group leaders teach their young
people to avoid drugs.

It is a reasonable approach toward keeping America's future - it's young
people - safe, healthy and alive for the future.