Stigmatizing and divisive. Stick to the facts!

This is a teen drug education book that could be used in a drug education unit of a health class, for homeschoolers, or to educate oneself. I’m in the addiction treatment field, and I would not use it for anything, in the future. It stigmatizes people with addictions. For example, kids are told that, “Users are losers.” Addicted people are people like anyone else, who deserve respect and human kindness. I just heard of a case in the Kensington neighborhood in Philadelphia, where a homeless, fentanyl addicted woman was beaten and set on fire by a group of teens. Teen violence against the “addicts” is an ongoing problem. Kids should be taught explicitly that addiction is a disease, and that nobody wants to have a disease, nor is having one a character flaw. They should also be taught that drugs make people act in ways that might seem funny or crazy, but it’s because they cause impairment and damage to the brain. People who use drugs typically look and act like anyone else when not under the influence and, often, you can’t tell at all. This book says none of those things, and it encourages a way of thinking that allows kids to think addiction can’t happen to them. A few of the facts are very out of date, but most of it is pretty current. It would be a decent introduction to the effects of cocaine, if it didn’t reinforce stereotypes and instruct children to tell the police and other authorities if their family members or friends are involved in drugs. Regardless of how teachers feel about what should happen with enforcement, I have lived and taught in areas where many families have members who are using, or dealing, drugs on a small scale. Telling kids to call police on their families discourages many families from being involved in drug education, which many active or recovering users often support and participate in, because they don’t want their kids to go through what they did. I’ve seen current & former users speak in classes, and it’s very powerful. But some families will keep children home if they distrust law enforcement, whether or not they are involved in drugs. Also, students who have picked up on parents’ anxiety and distrust such programs, rejecting the scientific and health information, as well. It is wise to stick to the facts, when discussing controversial topics, rather than including opinions about what to do about family matters (familial child abuse is an obvious exception). That way, kids will trust the information they receive, and parents will trust and cooperate with schools in educating their children (or at least be more likely to). I would review this book well, if they edited out the old stigmatizing statements, which have been proven untrue by brain research, and kept police matters out of it. They should also bring the drug information up to date. It’s irresponsible to publish educational material about cocaine (or most drugs) without mentioning that cocaine, and many street drugs, are being laced with fentanyl, today. Fentanyl (50 times stronger than morphine) has caused an epidemic number of fatal overdoses, and you can’t tell, by looking, if drugs are tainted. Street drugs are laced with ISO, far stronger than fentanyl, xylazine, benzodiazepines, and other dangerous substances. They should not skip that part, and discussing how Narcan can sometimes save someone who has taken an opiate overdose (or drugs laced with opiates) would also be helpful. Of course, I would stress that it’s not always able to save a person, but that carrying it could possibly save a life.

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