Teach responsibility on drug use, not 'just say no'; 
( The Atlanta Journal and Constitution ) BRIAN C. BENNETT, For the
Journal-Constitution; 04-11-2002. 

Teach responsibility on drug use, not 'just say no' 
BYLINE: BRIAN C. BENNETT, For the Journal-Constitution 
EDITION: Home 
SECTION: Editorial 
TYPE: Column

According to a new study from the National Institutes of Health, alcohol consumption at American colleges
is a "crisis." The facts are straightforward enough: 1,400 deaths, 500,000 injuries and 70, 000 sexual assaults
per year. Predictably, the buzz is on about how to address the issue. Cracking down on fraternity parties,
"zero tolerance" and other extreme measures are the word of the day, but unfortunately will do nothing to
alter what is happening. In today's world, kids are raised with two conflicting messages with regard to drugs:
On the one hand, we have the hopelessly simplistic "just say no" message, and on the other we have the
"take this, you'll feel better" approach. From infancy to early adolescence, children are treated with a wide
variety of pills, potions, unguents and injections, all of which are administered with the goal of making them
feel better. "Come on, sweetie, swallow this it will make you feel better," says mom. 
When your children encounter the first cigarette, joint or beer offered to them with the words "try this you'll
feel better," what do you suppose the outcome will be? Having been primed to be a drug user for the entirety
of their lives, how effective can the message "just say no" really be? If telling a child "no" doesn't keep his
hand out of the cookie jar, how effective will it be against keeping an adolescent away from other goodies?
The only thing missing is someone teaching kids how to use dangerous things safely. Sure, we are told to
"drink responsibly," but nobody ever tells us what that really means. Rather than flipping a switch on
someone's 21st birthday and turning him or her loose completely unprepared, we owe it to our children and
society as a whole to ensure that they are ready to face the challenges and dangers of life.
You may have a rule that drinking and other forms of drug use are forbidden, but your rules are the very thing
being challenged by a developing adolescent. It is far better and wiser to teach them how to safely mitigate
the risks they indulge, rather than depending on sloganeering or attaining magical ages to rescue them. The
solution to irresponsible drug use is to end the "just say no" mentality, and replace it with "say yes
responsibly." 
Brian C. Bennett is a writer living in central Virginia.

BRIAN C. BENNETT, For the Journal-Constitution, Teach responsibility on drug use, not 'just say no'. , The
Atlanta Journal and Constitution, 04-11-2002, pp A18.