"Alex, what's your question?"
"Yeah, so what if someone offers you cigarettes, you say no---but they put a gun to your head? What would you do?"
After all these years of D.A.R.E. instruction, I was shocked it took this long. Time after time, we looked at colorful pamphlets that demonstrated how drugs, like alcohol, tobacco, marijuana, and cocaine, were bad. Lethal, in fact. We were taught that we would be betrayed by our friends and surrounded by addicts on our way home from school who would pressure us to no end to take a hit of weed. These cartoons were no joke. In middle school, these campaigns stepped up their game. The school would bring in huge 3-screen displays that filled the auditorium with sensationalized documentaries showing teenagers just how easy it is to ruin your life with drugs. The Linkin Park music was pretty cool though.
Time has passed since D.A.R.E., and while most people have outgrown this belief that being offered drugs is a huge threat to our safety, I go on Facebook and see that some people reaaaallllly dislike efforts that help keep drug users safe. Baffled by needle exchange programs to free Narcan, many individuals expound on how drug users are addicted by choice, and that we should not be aiding them while they ruin their lives. Some see public health efforts geared towards drug users as an opportunity cost that strikes close to home. Diabetics chime in with "where's my free insulin?" Attitudes like this reverberate through Facebook comments, and I think it unveils the elephant in the room when it comes to teaching about drugs: we teach that drugs are horrific, and we must dissociate from people who do them. Why though?
When it comes to teaching children about drugs, we are overdue for a remodel. I think it's generally a good idea that parents and other authority figures tell their children not to hang out with a crowd that does drugs. Kids are impressionable, and if they associate themselves with drug users, they will likely begin to experiment as well. However, it is unjust to teach kids to flat-out avoid people on the premise that they use drugs. This can and should change. We can mentor our kids to engage in "charitable thinking" when it comes to evaluating their peers. Joe Smoe might come to class stoned every day, but that doesn't automatically write off Joe as someone who needs to be avoided. We should teach our kids to look at Joe's positive aspects: Joe could be nice, funny, and generous. Kids may be biased initially to categorize Joe as a bad kid, but charitable thinking can do wonders for seeing past that and forming some sort of bond with Joe.
What can communication grounded in charitable thinking accomplish? For one, it allows Joe Smoe to feel welcomed by others. This is important because if Joe is not accepted by his peers at large, he's more likely to seek approval of those who will have no problem validating him: other drug users. And if Joe Smoe gets deeply involved with a "bad group," he could fall victim to dangerous group dynamics and move on to some harder drugs. Moreover, charitable thinking will allow children to see drug users as actual people. Real people! Would you take a gander at that?! Human beings with values, worries, fears, and relatable hardships. If we can teach kids to connect with their peers on this level, we can definitely see a spike in public support for programs that help drug users engage in safer practices.
Besides encouraging children to challenge the way they perceive others, it can also be advantageous to loosen up the criminal arm of drug enforcement. It's 2019, and marijuana is still a Schedule 1 drug---even though it has some medical uses. Cops and Live PD showcase people getting arrested on drug charges. Uniformed police officers teach D.A.R.E.. How can we expect the public to want to help drug users if addicts are real and theatrical representations of crime? Do you recall the last time you wanted to help out a rapist or a wife-beater? Neither do I. We should dissociate drugs from crimes (in certain aspects) to enable the public to associate health programs and initiatives with the "greater good" rather than sponsors of bad behavior.
In the age of flavored Juuls and marijuana sold from Instagram icons like Dan Bilzerian, I think the younger generation is more poised than ever to understand how drug addiction transpires. Less obvious to young minds is how to isolate drug addiction from negatively affecting other aspects of public health, which is a conversation that can only be started by people passionate with initiatives that are both important and within reach. We can foster more positive conversations in this space by encouraging young men and women to think critically about the way they perceive others. It's a great skill, and this is a perfect area for kids to apply it. The goal of keeping drug users safe from overdose and HIV belongs far outside the reach of handcuffs. Handcuffs rarely clean up a community; they leave it barren, and I believe if we conduct drug education the right way, we can build a generation that understands such a concept. Perhaps we can save hundreds of thousands of lives along the way, too.
Ezra Guttmann is a medical student at the Touro College of Osteopathic Medicine. Opinions in this blog are of his own. There is no medical advice on this website.
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