Alcohol, tobacco and drug usage all are components of a substance-abuse problem that is rampant in Marion County as well as across the state of West Virginia.
Youth as young as 12 years old have been found to be victims of substance abuse. The older they are, the higher the incident rate of use and addiction becomes. What some may perceive as “rights of passage” for young adults too often end in tragedy.
From automobile accidents to drug overdoses to bad reactions to substances that aren’t intended for the purposes that they are used, these are too often the tragic outcomes of youth culture gone awry. Alcohol and date-rape drugs including ecstasy often add sexual abuse as an unwanted outcome of substance abuse. In extreme cases, substance abuse even leads to teen suicide.
Substance abuse is not just a problem for police officers or school personnel. It’s not the school’s fault that alcohol, prescription drugs, bath salts, marijuana and crack cocaine are prevalent in our community. School just happens to be the place where drug peddlers, users and peer pressure assemble for the purpose of “educating” our youth. Unfortunately, that education goes beyond the three Rs – reading, writing and arithmetic. It has come to mean first-hand knowledge about getting high.
Today’s youth are bombarded by popular messages on cable TV, the Internet, in the music that they listen to and the movies that they watch that promote the message that sex, drugs and violence are cool. This is clearly a culture of self-destruction with substance abuse at its center.
Parents are too often outgunned in the battle to protect their kids from the many traps that today’s pop culture has set for them. From cellphones to texting to Facebook and any multitude of websites, today’s young people have access to things that quite honestly they are not mature enough to deal with.
It is a constant battle. Parents must be vigilant. The price to pay for letting your guard down is too great. It is better to be an overprotective parent than it is to be too trusting and popular with your kids. They may not like your constant oversight, but they know deep inside that you do it because you love them.
Even the simple act of using smokeless tobacco is a form of substance abuse. Like cigarettes, it can lead to other more-harmful addictions. Beer, wine and other forms of alcohol may seem harmless enough to some parents. But, the truth is that alcohol consumed by minors is harmful and illegal. The news is full of young victims that thought that they were mature enough to drink.
The Marion County Substance Abuse Prevention Coalition was established in 2009 by the Marion County Family Resource Network in response to rising statistics of drug and alcohol abuse by youth. The aim of the coalition is to coordinate community efforts to make a positive impact on the alcohol and drug issues involving youth in our community. In order to effectively address local issues, the coalition recruits members from various sectors of the community including prevention, law enforcement, media, health care, government, education, parents, youth agencies, youth groups and more.
In the coming weeks and months, the coalition has a number of community-awareness events (all free and open to the public). Programs include: evidence-based curriculum for local schools and the Boys & Girls Clubs; peer-to-peer support and peer-led discussions at the middle schools; and training, workshops and summits to enhance skills and educate and inform professionals, caregivers and the community-at-large.
The most critical component is parental involvement.
It is challenging to be a parent today, especially with two-income households where both parents must work and single-parent households where there is often no one else to share the responsibility and burden. There never seems to be enough time to deal with all of the demands that parents face.
We urge all parents to get intimately involved in every aspect of their child’s life. Don’t assume that your kid is immune from the pressures and traps of the world. Rich, poor, churched and un-churched alike are all susceptible to the evils of substance abuse.
We are in a battle for the health and well-being of our children. It is time for all parents to arm themselves with information and knowledge on how to fight back against that which comes to kill, steal and destroy our kids, our families and our community.
Opinion
Involvement of parents is critical in battle against substance abuse
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