TEENS SHOULD BE TOLD TRUTH ABOUT DRUGS

While I appreciate the concerns of Ms. Longtin as expressed in her
April 26 letter, I strongly disagree that information about
potentially harmful drugs should be kept from young people.

Teen-agers are almost never fooled or dissuaded when adults try to
shield them from things, and many if not most already have Internet
access to a wealth of information that may be true, misleading or
outright lies.

Those young people who are tempted to experiment with drugs and have
not been given truthful information are likely to be afraid to ask
and are extremely vulnerable to accidental overdoses or contagious
disease.

The only way to avoid more tragedies like the overdose death of
Phillip Conklin is to be thoroughly open and honest with the young
people in our communities and our lives. This discussion must include
facts on the potential harm of all dangerous drugs including alcohol
and tobacco, acknowledgment of the difference between use and abuse,
strategies for drug abstinence and increasing the safety of drug
experimentation. Teen-agers who are told half-truths or given blanket
"just say no" messages quickly grow distrustful and do not learn to
make safe, informed decisions.

Truthful education is working to reduce tobacco smoking by young
people. Please don't let ingrained fear of other substances keep it
from working to reduce abuse and overdoses of other potentially
dangerous substances.

Alexandra Meyerson, Bayside