Almost everyone has seen ads on television, billboards, and subway signs for drug rehabilitation programs and the dangers of drug use. Many teens and children of all ages have been in some type of drug education program like D.A.R.E., or participated in some school sponsored anti-drug seminar. Parents, teachers, and police all think that these programs have some type of impact, however they do not.

Some of my friends who have been through every type of drug education program experiment with all kinds of drugs nonetheless. These programs may even have a negative effect on some teens. They feel that these programs try to slam ideas that aren't theirs into their minds. When a 40-year-old police officer tells a 14-year-old not to smoke marijuana because it's damaging to their lungs, they blow it off like some annoying lecture. Most teens don't see the long-term effects of drugs and alcohol, and feel that they are untouchable. Some of my peers are intelligent, wealthy, and informed kids who want to be like someone they see on TV or idolize and feel that doing drugs will make them more like that person.

Many teens do drugs and drink because it is what the most popular kids do, and they think doing drugs will make them more popular too. The problem is that this seems true. Some girls will only go out with guys who drink alcohol, and are therefore invited to the best parties. Being accepted into some social group by doing drugs is not peculiar and happens every day.

In most cases parents have no idea that their children are experimenting with drugs, and it is usually not the parents' fault. When their kids ask to go to a concert with some friends, most parents agree. What they don't know is that same day their teenager bought a dime bag of marijuana and rolling paper and plans to smoke at the concert. Even if they only do it ten or twelve times a year, that number will increase over the years. Kids feel that doing drugs only once in a while won't hurt them, and never think that they could get addicted.

Parents and D.A.R.E. officers can't be with kids every second of the day, and can only hope to have some influence, if any. The best medicine against drug use among teens is trust between them and their parents. The problem is that real trust doesn't always exist between parents and kids. A mother or father should sit down with their teen and honestly tell them what they know about drugs, and whether or not they have experimented with them. This honesty will bring the teen closer to their parents, and a trust will be made that will be hard to break. ?