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In search of the 'anti-drug'
Talking about drugs: The toughest conversation
By the time I neared the end of my dozens of interviews for this series, I had it down to a science: two minutes. No more, and rarely less. I had two minutes to convince each person that this was a story they could be a part of without giving up too many secrets.
Maybe it's because, with so many people having either tried an illicit drug or knowing someone who has, the subject feels too personal. Or maybe it's a more general concern about having one's name attached to something so dark, so forbidden.
But one pattern quickly emerged: No one wants to talk about drugs - and that's especially true for adults.
I don't mean to imply that his voice didn't drop an octave when Jordan Temple spoke of his aunt, who has used crack cocaine for as long as he can remember. Or that he didn't choke up when he spoke of his siblings and the need, if only as a role model, to stay clean.
And I don't mean to imply that she didn't blush when I got around to asking Isabel Maremont some of the tougher questions: Has she ever tried drugs? Does she think she ever will? A tiny voice in the back of my mind wondered: Is it any of your business? Her eyes, so honest, so disarming, almost said, "Yes, it is."
What struck me more than the shyness of the students was the language of the experts. Sure, they'd like to discuss drug education. Sure, they had plenty to say about what they have and haven't learned.
But the moment I asked why kids might be attracted to drugs, the language transformed into policy speak, into a prose so formal it was unclear whether I was getting even the tiniest glimpse of their beliefs.
"We're putting in place additional quality control measures to ensure proper diffusion," one expert told me. Another surmised: "You can't go into a very brief intervention with kids and say their developmental course has been changed forever."
It was as if I'd set off an alarm. I couldn't help but wonder if these kids - who constantly spoke of the importance of "keepin' it real" - trust adults a little bit less when the language strays from sincerity to discomfort and obfuscation.
Programs that hold promise
CASASTART
www.casacolumbia.org
Developed by The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University, CASASTART (Striving Together to Achieve Rewarding Tomorrows) is a community-based, school-centered program designed to build resistence to drugs and crime in "high-risk preadolescents" between the ages of 8 and 13. The program brings together some of the key stakeholders (schools, law enforcement, social services, and health agencies) under one umbrella and works daily with children.
FAST
www.wcer.wisc.edu/FAST
Designed to build protective factors for students ages 4 to 12, and to empower parents to be directly involved in their own children's understanding of the dangers of drugs, Families and Schools Together (FAST) was developed in Madison, Wis., in 1988. Its key distinction: Team members do not lecture at FAST, but plan participatory activities that involve turn taking, experiential learning, and parental support. FAST is now implemented regularly in 45 states and five countries - Canada, Germany, Australia, Austria, and Russia.
Too Good For Drugs
www.mendezfoundation.org/educationcenter/tgfd
Too Good For Drugs is a school-based prevention program designed to reduce the risks and enhance the protective factors related to alcohol, tobacco, and other drug use among students grades K-8. Each grade level follows a separate curriculum, and each curriculum is designed with the specific goal of lifelong retention in mind. Too Good For Drugs also focuses on five broader skills: goal setting, decision making, bonding with peers, identifying and managing emotions, and communicating effectively.
Peers Making Peace
www.pmuinc.com/
Developed with children grades six through 12 in mind, Peers Making Peace offers unique "peer-mediation training" in groups of 15 to 24 students. Using students as active mediators, each participating school develops a program that deals with conflicts among students to reduce suspensions and expulsions, as well as to improve school attendance and academic performance. The idea behind Peers Making Peace is rooted firmly in the importance of helping children take responsibility for their actions.
Fighting Back
www.fighting-back.org/
Although still little more than a pilot program, Fighting Back has demonstrated remarkable success in reducing substance abuse among youth aged 12-17 in the Santa Barbara, Calif., county school system. The community-wide effort to build a safer, healthier, and drug-free community focuses on reducing the demand for alcohol and other drugs. It addresses issues contributing to substance abuse, rather than simply teaching denial skills. The community-wide strategies evolved into a long-term local intervention designed to reduce the problems associated with substance abuse through heightened public awareness, increased community outreach, and better institutional infrastructures (school, hospitals, etc.). Its long-term strategy aims at changing the way individuals and organizations think about substance abuse and at providing better responses to the various problems that it can cause.
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For a more comprehensive list of model drug programs, visit
www.modelprograms.samhsa.gov.
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E-mail
Elizabeth Armstrong
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