DRUG PREVENTION WORKS FOR FAMILIES, BUSINESSES

The director of The Partnership for a Drug-Free North Carolina calls
himself a "preventionalogist," and he urges others to take the same
approach. Richard Boswell spoke Thursday at the annual celebration
breakfast of the Drugs Don't Work in High Point program. He asserted that
drugs are killing children, tearing families apart and eroding business
profits, and too little is being done to stop the damage.

The father of four made some of his remarks from the perspective of a
parent keeping track of a teen-age son or daughter's activities. He has to
ask the hard questions: Where are you going? Who are you going with? Where
do you know them from? Is there a phone there? What would happen if I
showed up?

Not taking steps to keep children away from drugs often shifts the problem
to the other end of the equation, Boswell said: treatment. And there aren't
enough resources in place to meet the demand for treatment. The same lesson
applies to the workplace. The Drugs Don't Work in High Point program,
launched in 1994, allows employers to access low-cost, effective services
aimed at preventing drug problems. The High Point Chamber of Commerce
coordinates the program in cooperation with other local agencies. Services
include policy development, drug-testing, employee assistance and education
and training.

Drugs claim a high price, in families and in workplaces. Employees who use
drugs are late or absent more often, more prone to accidents and injuries
both on and off the job, more likely to file workers' compensation claims
and, overall, much less productive than employees who don't use drugs,
federal studies show. Drug abuse is not just an after-hours recreation: 75
percent of users admit to using drugs at work, and most of those say their
work performance is adversely affected, according to the National Institute
on Drug Abuse.

In challenging economic times, businesses can't afford the costs of drug
abuse in the workplace. Society can't afford the costs of drug abuse.
Prevention is cheaper and more effective. Everyone - including parents,
employers, school officials, police officers and ministers - has to join
Boswell as a "preventionalogist."