Lisa Huard, Drug Store Project
What rattles our communities across our nation to their core? Drug abuse. Approximately 100 people each day die from drug overdoses. Whole industries of products and programs are being developed to combat this problem. Every day more grandparents are now “parenting” their grandchildren so they can be raised in a stable and healthy environment. According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, the abuse of tobacco, alcohol, and illicit drugs is costing our Nation over $740 billion annually in costs related to crime, lost work productivity and health care.
There are many reasons why people do drugs: genetic vulnerability, cultural attitudes where the use of drugs are around them, personality traits which includes impulsivity, self-medication to relieve stress or anxiety, prescribed medication where a drug is seen as safe because it’s been prescribed by a doctor, peer pressure and trying to “fit in”, depression, to feel good, the fact that drugs are available, and just plain wanting to experiment to see how it feels.
Drugs aren’t used by “bad people”, but people are using drugs which are bad.
The connection between drug use and crime is well known. Individuals offend by drug possession or sales, or through crimes related to drug abuse such as stealing to get money for drugs, or they offend by participating in a lifestyle that predisposes the drug abuser to engage in illegal activity. Many of the studies that follow the onset of age children experiment with drugs is of great concern. The “gateway drugs” continue to be alcohol, tobacco and marijuana for our kids and through self-reporting surveys conducted in our schools, students anonymously identify the age of onset with drug experimentation at age 10.
Here in our community we hold a yearly drug prevention event called, “The Drug Store Project.” Now in its 16th year we will once again provide our sixth-grade youth, 325 in total, with a story-line of vignettes demonstrating to our youth the consequences of drug use and abuse. This program is provided by 45 agencies, local, state, and federal levels, all of whom share the belief that providing our youth with current information can and does make a difference for many. While there are many parents out there who do regularly talk with their kids about the effects any drug has on a developing body, there are those who don’t. Many times, it’s because they’ve never considered their child “at risk.” And many of our kids are friends with youth whose parents don’t see the harm in alcohol, tobacco, marijuana, or other drugs. It should be a concern to everyone when some adults feel it’s okay for a youth to drink or do drugs at home where “they’ll be safe”.
With over 35 years of drug prevention education experience and as a retired teacher, let me emphasize that ALL youth are at risk for getting involved in drugs. Peer pressure, curiosity, and the never-ending struggle we have now with drugs such as marijuana being classified as “recreational” in several states simply deemphasizes the drug’s danger and just adds to the confusion for our youth. I am just one of many in our community who has lost an adult child due to an overdose and like many, worked hard to always do the right thing.
“Choices, what are yours?” is the guiding theme throughout the presentations and the agencies presenting at each vignette are the individuals who deal with our youth and their families on a regular basis in our community. They are all working hard to keep your kids safe.
We have three main goals for this program. All 6th grade youth will:
• develop a baseline of information about drugs and how they can affect our minds, body, and relationships.
• learn the various agencies in their community in case they need assistance and as a possible career options in the future.
• realize that when it comes to using/abusing drugs it will be by their choice alone; that they are responsible for the decisions they make about their bodies as the people who love and care for them will not always be by their side.
The center of our story follows a student who gets arrested in front of their peers in the Pharmacy. From there the students see what happens in Juvenile Hall, The Court Room, a Counseling Scene, and Party Scene. It’s the Party Scene where the youth is rendered unconscious and then is taken to The Emergency Room where they are pronounced deceased. In this scene the students also begin to understand that the decisions they make affect those that love them as the Barton doctor talks with our “Grieving Parent”. From there the students attend The Funeral of that youth and again, the Grieving Parent shares how their lives are affected without their loved one.
While this program might be seen as a “scared straight” model of years gone by, its intent is to get our kids to see what “could” happen. It’s an attempt to get them to look beyond themselves and to understand that what they do affects all of those that love and care for them. It’s a program for our kids to understand the various agencies in our community and who they can get help from if needed.
This year’s event will be held on Tuesday, April 2, 2019 at the Lake Tahoe Community College campus. We provide this unique opportunity for the sixth-grade students of South Tahoe Middle School, Zephyr Cove Elementary, and home-schooled youth. If you are the parent of a home-schooled child and you’d like them to participate, please contact me directly at lhuard@ymail.com to make arrangements.
If you’d like to read more about our program I invite you to visit our website at www.makeschoolssafe.com . From there you can also volunteer your day to be a part of our program. I encourage everyone to take the time to learn as much about drug use and abuse and work to keep our kids healthy and safe.
– Lisa Huard, Drug Store Project