This is where the battle lines are drawn. This argument is played out in the homes of each student, faculty member, administrator and board member, and in the decisions that determine drug education program development and selection.

• Is the host (FOX News Anchor) making a good point about kids going crazy and getting in trouble in college who are away from their parents for the first time? How does your school address seniors transitioning to college? Is your information accurate about drinking? Are you talking about developmental grief as a more significant predictor of substance use?
• Dr. Peele says 50% of 21 year olds binge drink. He goes on to say we are not preparing them appropriately. What does he mean by that? Is it necessary for teens to drink to learn what an appropriate and healthy relationship with alcohol is?
• Can we use Europe as a model? How does culture determine a person’s relationship with alcohol?
• Ms. Fay says the best protective factors we have against teen addiction is to show teens the harm associated with drinking and other drug use and for society to not tolerate it. Is that true?

Ms. Fay says showing teens the harms associated with drinking and other drug use is one of the best protective factors against future addiction – did you hear that? What!!! Think about where drug education has been since the 70′s. We started with scare tactic movies – Blood on the Highway, Drink, Drive, Die! Reefer Madness. Then in the 80′s the approach was information-based drug education. Overwhelm students with drug-related information (often bias and not peer-reviewed) and they will choose a drug-free lifestyle. Sure? Everyone knows reducing calories and exercise daily will help you loose weight. Those pounds must be falling off you, right?

Links:

Drug-Free America Foundation
Dr. Stanton Peele’s Website

You may be interested in this old podcast I produced three years ago. The show “Fixing What’s Wrong with Drug Education”

This is an archived show from September. I hope you enjoy it.

The presidents of about 100 U.S. colleges are calling on lawmakers to consider lowering the drinking age to 18. John McCardell, the former president of Middlebury College in Vermont, says his group, the Amethyst Initiative, is against intoxication but supports responsible, adult behavior toward alcohol.  What do you think?

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This podcast is sponsored by Caron Treatment Centers