AHS Views

For the umpteenth time, I’ve just read another article about people protesting a drug rehab facility being opened in their area. I do understand that parents are trying to keep their kids from being exposed to drugs but, really, is this the way to do it? Your kids are going to be exposed to drugs whether you like it or not. There’s probably not one school that doesn’t have kids using drugs, and who don’t offer them to others. Wouldn’t your kids get a better education on the dangers of alcohol and drug abuse being close to a drug rehab program and people who don’t think taking drugs is a good idea?

Some of the most successful drug abuse and addiction preventions programs are school education programs that tell the real story – addicts in doorways, people living under bridges, deformed and retarded babies going through withdrawal, people dying of Hep C and AIDS, parents at the graves of their children, and children at the graves of their parents.

If you think you’re going to keep your kid off drugs by showing them the world through rose-colored glasses, think again.

It’s unfortunate that it’s come to this. If there was one Norman Rockwell town left in the U.S., it wouldn’t stay that way for long because everyone and their brother would want to move there. Let kids see that drugs are bad. Let them see recovery – the before and after. Kids whose parents really educate them on drugs are 50 percent less likely to become drug addicts. Let a successful drug rehab program be part of their education. It may save your kid’s life.