Experts say fighting the drug war starts at home
NORTH TEXAS (CBSNewsTexas.com) – If you can recall when America's war on drugs involved eye catching commercials involving a cast iron skillet and a cracked egg, experts say it's probably time for a drug war refresh. Think of it as boot camp brought on by rapidly changing times.
"I couldn't tell you the last time my teenager sat down with me and watched the 6 o'clock news," shares Becky Tinney, LMSW, LCDC, CPS, with the Recovery Resource Council in Dallas. "That's just not how he gets information, right?
The Recovery Resource Council, a 76-year-old behavioral health nonprofit, leverages funding from the state to provide free drug prevention curriculum to schools, and addiction treatment resources to the community. Tinney says current drug prevention messaging strives to meet kids where they live: and like it or not, that's online, because that's where they're finding trouble, as well.
"Right now, social media is one of the top methods in which our youth are finding and accessing illegal drugs."
And they're risking death with a single pill. Often even the loss of friends from tainted pills is not enough to alter behavior.
"Everyone does it and they want to see what it feels like... I just wanted to try it." Those chilling words from a 14-year-old who until recently attended R.L. Turner High school in Carrollton. She and her mother spoke last month with CBS News Texas' Andrea Lucia, sharing that the teen had survived two overdose incidents.
Her mother now homeschools. But when asked if she would try the drugs again if she went back to school, the teen responded "Yes."
A response unthinkable for adults, but Tinney reminds parents that "our kids' brains just don't work that way."
She adds, "they are making a choice without the logic part of their brain fully developed. They think 'how is this going to make me feel right NOW?"
So, experts say it's important to fight the drug war at home, right now: with expectations, conversations and staying connected.
"Create a safe space for them to talk to you about their stress, about when they're feeling overwhelmed, talk to them about peer pressure, talk to them about what's going on with their friends," says Tinney. "We don't often think of those types of conversations as prevention conversations, but they are... those are the things that push kids to start participating in things like that."
