NOW, SOME POSSIBLE SOLUTIONS TO DRUG PROBLEM

On June 12, this paper published my Amarillo Voices column, "Drug testing
students causes more harm than good." I still believe that's true, but it
leaves the question of how to prevent teens from becoming involved with drugs.

I don't know the answer, but I would like to offer a few commonsense ideas.

First of all, finding help for drug addiction is not easy. There are
programs available, but many addicts don't feel comfortable seeking those
out, because they know drugs are illegal, and they worry that public
admission of their problem may eventually land them in jail. Even the
slight chance of being labeled a drug-user is scary and often prevents
addicts seeking help.

I suggest that drug-treatment programs be advertised in a way that stresses
their confidentiality. It is vitally important that anyone seeking help for
addiction have absolute assurance that their participation in a
drug-treatment program will never become an avenue for law enforcement. I
haven't seen anything on television or in print advertising that explains
drug-treatment options or, more importantly, that public treatment is
confidential.

Programs such as Alcoholics Anonymous are wonderful and help thousands of
people every year. I don't think, however, that AA addresses the problems
of drug addiction as effectively as it does alcohol abuse. Stepping up in
front of a group of people and telling them you are a drug addict still
includes the fear that lurking in that audience of fellow confessors could
be one individual who is working undercover for the police force.

Alcoholics don't have to deal with that fear; drug-users do. That is the
difference, and it is a big one, no matter how you rationalize it. For a
drug-treatment program to be effective, the people in the program must know
they are safe to express their feelings, without the fear that the
ever-more-omnipresent eye of the law is watching.

My second suggestion is related to the entertainment industry.
Glamorization of the drug culture is spoonfed to children through the
media. The film and television industry have done a few things to help
curtail this trend, but the recording industry has not.

In a recent article in Rolling Stone magazine, Dr. Dre is listed as being
the second highest money-earning artist in the recording industry for the
year 2001. Dre openly expounds the pleasures of marijuana use. He and a
host of other artists, particularly rap musicians, tell kids, through their
music and lifestyles, that drug use is cool.

If we want to get kids off drugs, it's not good to expose them to music and
media that say drug use is cool. Warning labels are a good step, but I'm
talking about seriously making a move in financial circles to get these
"puff-daddies" off the airwaves.

Oh, yeah - parents must get involved as well. Don't let your kids listen to
music that glamorizes drugs.

Finally, why are we bombarded with ridiculous commercials telling kids they
are supporting terrorism if they use drugs? These ads are supposed to
appeal to the sensibilities of teens? NOT! Instead, why don't we show
commercials featuring actual drug-users and/or the results of prolonged
drug use? How about an ad featuring the bullet- riddled body of rap singer
2-Pac (Tupac Shakur).

Shakur was slain in a gang-related killing a few years ago but continues to
be glorified as a martyr by many fans of rap music. I can't tell you how
many 2-Pac posters I saw when I eding at the Clements Unit. I can also say,
as an English teacher, I've received a number of essays about the guy.

I'm getting older (rhymes with, but is not synonymous with, bolder), and
it's a bit scary to see so much adulation given to a man who seemed to
dedicate his life to corruption.

2-Pac is not the only celebrity who has died, directly or indirectly, from
drug use and since enjoyed martyr status. The list is long: Jimi Hendrix,
Janis Joplin, Kurt Cobain, Mama Cass Elliot, Duane Allman, Jim Morrison and
a host of others. We have to find a way to make drug use seem less cool.
Living fast and dying young is not cool, so why don't more people say
something when the media make it seem like it is?

I've made three suggestions here that seem sensible to me. What we're doing
now isn't working. Moralizing, propaganda and SWAT teams bursting through
doors haven't done much good. It's time to address the problem of drug
addiction in the same ways we address alcohol addiction: with treatment,
more honesty, and without social and legal stigma.

I'm not sure it will work, but are you sure it won't?