EXPERT SAYS DRUG EDUCATION FAILING

A San Francisco Sociologist Argues Against Scare Tactics

Marsha Rosenbaum thinks that "Just Say No" should be replaced with "Just Say
Know."

Her attitude dates back to an encounter she had with "a nice, middle-class
Jewish girl like myself," she recalled, who wound up hooked on heroin.
Rosenbaum interviewed her in prison while working on her doctoral
dissertation.

"I will never forget what she told me," said Rosenbaum, a medical
sociologist. "She said she'd had drug education classes and they told her
that if she tried marijuana, she'd become addicted. But when she and her
friends tried pot, it just didn't happen. So she decided it was a lie. And
she went on to try heroin."

Concerned that drug education efforts are failing because they often rely on
scare tactics rather than solid science, Rosenbaum is pushing a new approach
in her booklet, "Safety First: A Reality-based Approach to Teens, Drugs and
Drug Education."

Rosenbaum, director of the San Francisco office of the Drug Policy Alliance,
visited Honolulu last week to meet with educators and the public and raise
awareness of the issue. Although abstinence is best, she said, those who
choose to experiment need knowledge in order to minimize harm to themselves
and those around them.

More than 30,000 copies of her booklet have been handed out nationwide, and
it is now being distributed through secondary school PTAs in California.

The approach is not without controversy. Before approving the booklet, a few
PTA members in California expressed concern that it might draw teens toward
drug experimentation, she said.

"Some people said, 'Isn't this opening the door for them?'" Rosenbaum said.
"My response is that in America the door is already open -- wide open."

Drugs pervade American culture, she noted, from caffeine, alcohol and
tobacco to prescription drugs, over-the-counter medications and illegal
drugs. Teenagers are naturally prone to risk-taking, she said, and need
skills and knowledge to make sensible choices for the rest of their lives.

"After two decades of telling teens to 'just say no,' more than half of all
high school students in America experiment with illegal drugs, and even more
use alcohol," she said. "A lot of kids say 'sometimes' or 'maybe' or 'yes.'
We need a fallback strategy for them that puts safety first."

Programs should be based on scientific research, differentiate between use
and abuse, emphasize the legal consequences of drug use and make safety the
bottom line, she said.

"There's enough danger in drugs that you just have to tell the truth," said
Rosenbaum, who has done extensive research for the National institute on
Drug Abuse on heroin addiction, crack cocaine, Ecstasy and drug treatment.

The "Safety First" program won some support Friday in Honolulu at a forum of
educators, sponsored by the Drug Policy Forum of Hawaii.

"I think what's really good about it is that it's a very factual approach,
talking to kids about what they want to know and not giving them scare
tactics," said Julie Halpern, director of student services at Mid-Pacific
Institute. "The real information is scary enough. You don't have to blow it
up by saying that you're going to become a heroin addict if you smoke pot."

Teens know from observation and experience that marijuana does not
inevitably lead to use of harder drugs, Rosenbaum said, and that most who
try it do not wind up using it on a regular basis. When they are told
otherwise, "students discount both the message and the messenger," she said.
In a letter to her son reprinted in the booklet, she warned that although
marijuana "does not often lead to physical dependence or overdose, it does
alter the way people think, behave and react," interferes with their ability
to learn and can sometimes make them paranoid.

Shirley Robinson, a newly elected member of the Board of Education who
attended the forum, embraced Rosenbaum's idea of having a drug abuse expert,
armed with a laptop for research, available once a week at school for kids
with questions.

"I like the idea of a voluntary drop-in center," she said. "I would like to
have jam sessions, where kids feel free to talk, with a professional there."

School board member Carol Gabbard said she has not studied the "Safety
First" program but thought Rosenbaum "had some good ideas." One example was
having students who are suspended for drug-related offenses do volunteer
work at drug rehabilitation programs where they'll see people trying to kick
the habit. "That makes it real to the kids," she said.

Roosevelt High School Principal Dennis Hokama said the credibility of
information given students is crucial. "We're dealing with kids on a subject
that they know so much about," he said.