ANTI-DRUG FEAR TACTIC MIXES THE MESSAGES

"Just say no" doesn't cut it and the billions spent on drug education
aren't working either, says medical sociologist Marsha Rosenbaum.
Addressing a parent education session at Campolindo High School last week,
Rosenbaum criticized DARE-type drug education efforts and debunked more
than a few myths.

Rosenbaum directs San Francisco's Lindesmith Center-Drug Policy Foundation,
advocates for national drug policy reforms, including legalization of
medicinal marijuana and changes in both the criminal justice and education
arenas.

"Eighty-one percent of American people have used a drug in the last week.
Fifty percent use a prescription drug. Paxil, Zoloft and Prozac use has
tripled in the last year. These are psycho-active drugs," she says.
"Ritalin? Kids see that one up close ... America is not drug- free and kids
know it. When they see a line outside Starbucks, they know what that's for."

Despite massive spending and education efforts, "kids are not being
prevented from using substances. Somewhere there is a disconnect," she
notes, citing statistics showing that 80 percent of high school students
will have tried alcohol by the time they graduate, 54 percent have tried
marijuana and 12 percent have tried Ecstasy.

Rosenbaum's research points to a basic problem with drug education itself.
The scare tactics frequently employed by educators and parents have
destroyed the message. A student who is told that both marijuana and heroin
are terribly addictive and dangerous, soon discovers that marijuana is
neither. Credibility disappears, along with the critical information that
heroin is indeed terribly addictive and dangerous.

"Kids have gotten cynical about the message. Exaggerate risks of other
substances and we have to pull ourselves out of a credibility hole," she
says. "Honesty is the core of drug education."

Although Rosenbaum was critical of many drug education programs, the model
she favors is a science-based, frank explanation of risks and safety
issues, with expert advice available from an on-campus drug counselor.
Several parents later commented that expert, drop-in advice is already
available to local teens in a far more confidential format. Visits to high
school nurses go unremarked by fellow students and passersby.

Campolindo nurse Dvora Citron agrees, "No one has any idea (why they're
there) :Eheadache, cramps, pregnancy or drugs. And we help facilitate a
plan of action for long-term follow-up, not an episodic treatment."

A large portion of Rosenbaum's talk focused on Ecstasy, the subject of her
book, co-authored with Jerome Beck. Patented in 1912, Ecstasy was prized by
1970s-era psychiatrists for its power to relax patients and lower defenses.
Users feel euphoric, accepted and extremely loving. It melts away all that
teen angst, says Rosenbaum, describing its recreational appeal. The drug
remained legal until 1985, but like many of its illicit colleagues, that
ban did nothing to stem its use.

"A decade later, Ecstasy was part of the rave scene. Increased use,
increased availability, increased problems," says Rosenbaum.

Other than increases in seratonin levels, the scientific basis for
Ecstasy's effects is still not completely understood, but one of the most
serious side effects is a rapid and severe increase in body temperature.
The result can be catastrophic in an overheated and dehydrated individual,
i.e., the typical rave attendee.

"Paxil, Prozac increase seratonin, but it takes two to four weeks to see a
beneficial effect. There's something else going on with Ecstasy, some
modulating effect on the pleasure centers," says Moraga pharmacist and
parent Pat Thompson. "The worst case scenario is brain damage, respiratory
arrest, but most of the studies, when they're seeing kids in the emergency
room, they're coming from a rave."

Dr. Alex Stalcup discusses "Your Teen and Addiction" next week in the
Miramonte cafeteria, as part of the parent education series. The free
lecture begins at 7:30 p.m., Feb. 7.