ASKING JUST ISN'T ENOUGH

"I know my daughter's not doing drugs. I know because I ask her."

If I hear that inane statement one more time I think I'll scream. Those
words are the latest drivel out of the mouths of some well-meaning actors
portraying parents for an anti-drug campaign that I'm sure you and I are
paying for with our hard-earned dollars. Aimed at our youth and their
parents, this nonsense message makes one believe that if you ask your
children if they are doing drugs, they'll automatically tell you the truth.

Forget looking in their sock drawers for roach clips or checking their
pupils for signs of getting high. Don't give them a hug and smell for
alcohol on their breath. And don't think about knowing who they are really
hanging out with or where they'll be on Friday night. No, and whatever you
do, don't question the honor roll students or sports stars. They wouldn't
think of doing drugs, smoking or putting a beer to their lips.

No, that would be an invasion of the little darlings' space. Just ask them
every day if they do drugs. Yeah, that will keep them on the straight and
narrow.

Who writes this stuff? I'd like to meet them and see what planet they are
residing on today.

The first time I heard one of those sappy commercials, I didn't give it
much thought. But after listening to this poor attempt at a message about
drug use among our youth, I had to speak up.

Sure, it's a great idea to have regular conversation with your children.
That's called being a family. But by the time children are in middle
school, they have already been exposed to things their parents didn't have
at their age. It's definitely too late to start asking them about drugs by
the time they're in high school.

Obviously the United States government believes that drug, alcohol and
tobacco use among our youth of today is a problem. A big problem. In some
states including West Virginia, alcohol and tobacco use is commonplace
among the teen crowd.

In last Sunday's newspaper, there was a story out of Oak Hill, W.Va., where
the under-21 crowd spoke freely about their use of alcohol. According to a
1999 West Virginia Youth Risk Behavior Survey quoted in the story, about 80
percent of all students in grades nine through 12 have tried alcohol. Half
of the teens surveyed said they currently drink alcohol.

If you think this isn't happening in your own backyard, you better wake up
and smell the coffee. And don't give me that excuse that "we drank when we
were teens." Maybe so, but that doesn't make it right. Bottom line, it's
against the law for kids to drink alcohol, smoke cigarettes and take
illegal drugs. What's making matters worse is that there are plenty of
adults who think it's cute to sell the stuff to youngsters.

It's difficult enough to be teen-ager s today and even tougher to be their
parents. The distraction of booze and drugs makes it all so much more
horrendous. I'm sure there are kids who don't give in to the peer pressure
and temptation of the party life. But from recent statistics, they are in
the minority.

It sounds like we need a new anti-drug/alcohol campaign in this country.
Tell your lawmakers. Don't ask them.