Drug Education is the only hope for so many children. Research shows that 62% of high school kids think that using drugs is cool. How many of them will use and become addicted and eventually die?
In recent years, the number of drug-related deaths has exploded due to fentanyl, but as Tom Monson will tell you, “It isn’t the fentanyl that’s killing people. It’s the people using fentanyl that’s doing it. A few years ago, it was heroin, meth, spice, or angel dust. In a couple of years when the numbers double again, it will be something else.”
What is the answer? According to Monson, there is no single answer but a good start would be to make sure every 10-year-old understands what drugs are. That’s why he is a proponent of mandatory drug education. But he understands that due to the political arena, that isn’t likely going to happen.
“Drug education going to be up to the parents to make sure these kids understand that drugs have a deadly side they should understand,” Monson said.
Drug-related deaths have risen exponentially over the past decade, and unless we do something drastic they will double within a few short years. The accelerated death rate started when individual states began the wholesale legalization of marijuana.
“Education is the only pushback we have,” Monson said. “And, if we are not educating our kids, then we are as responsible as the morally corrupt individuals who sell illicit drugs.”
Drug Awareness Education Made Easy
That’s why Tom Monson Productions is initiating the Drug Awareness Education Hub. “This is where we educate young people about the dangers of drugs and substance abuse. The primary purpose is to make the Drug-Free-Living Video Library available for parents and others interested in an effective way to get the message through to their kids. From methamphetamine to alcohol, our videos help people to get to know the truth about these often lethal substances.
About Tom Monson
Tom has been an active proponent and producing substance-abuse educational material since his son Matthew was killed by a drunk driver. One of his recent books, “Saving Alpha,” outlines a strategy to change the course of the run-away drug problem.
What’s Your Strategy to Protect Your Children from Drugs? If you don’t have one then you are leaving your child’s future to chance.
According to the Centers for Disease Control, more people died from drug overdoses last year than we lost in the entire Viet Nam War. Why? Most of them started between the ages of 10 and 12 and didn’t understand what they were doing. Unfortunately, the problem is going to get a lot worse and we are the only chance our kids have. If we don’t teach them, who will?
Let’s Get RealThe so-called War on Drugs is a complete disaster! We are losing more people to drug overdoses than ever before. Estimates say that half of all suicides are related to substance abuse. Approximately twenty-five percent of automobile crash deaths are caused by intoxicated drivers. And hold on to your butt because things are going to get a lot worse.
Over the past 12 years, the number of overdose deaths has almost doubled. I believe we are going to see another doubling in a much lesser period of time. There are several reasons but the main reason is they have legalized pot, almost half of the high school seniors say they have used it.
The reason the War on Drugs has failed is it is because it is a hollow slogan that no one believes. The whole concept of war is a people fights for their survival with a complete and total commitment to defeat an enemy. First, we have not defined an enemy and second, there is only a minimal commitment.
Some people say we should legalize everything as they did in Portugal. It doesn’t matter if drugs are legal or not because if you are 10 or 12, everything is illegal (unless it is prescribed by a licensed physician).
Protect Your Children from Drugs
Alcohol, tobacco, and now marijuana (in many states) are legal substances but not for junior high or elementary school students. Yet the vast majority of people who died last year because of drug overdoses started using one of these substances when they were still a kid.
If We Don’t Teach Them, Who Will?
And it doesn’t matter who your children are, drugs can take anyone who flirts with them.
You may or may not agree with the gateway drug concept and it really doesn’t matter. What matters is when someone starts using any substance before their brain matures, they have a much higher chance of becoming addicted. Ask any alcoholic and chances are about 90% that they started when they were 10 to 15 years old. I’ve interviewed a lot of kids who told me they started drinking before they were 10.
And don’t expect the government to figure it out. How’s that been going so far? The problem is they only spend about five percent of their budget on prevention. The rest is spent to enforce drug laws, and for treatment. I guess they didn’t buy into Benjamin Franklin’s idea of an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. They are spending 20 ounces on the cure and only one on prevention. And… It’s only going to get worse.
If we want to really protect our kids, it’s up to us!
The thing that will get us the greatest result is to convince them before they start. Because research shows that even a one-time use could cause someone to become addicted. It doesn’t happen often, but why risk it?
If you help them make a decision now, then when the moment of truth arrives and their lives are on the line, they will have to change their mind. It is a lot harder to change a made-up mind than it is to persuade someone who does not have an opinion. (Peer pressure works best on kids who are sitting on the fence.)
After they start you have to convince them and their addicted self — the one that likes how they feel when they smoke weed or crack.
Protect Your Children from Drugs is much easier said than done. But you don’t have to leave it to chance.
I know firsthand what it is like to lose a child because when my son was 19 he was killed by a drunk driver who just happened to be his best friend. My son lost his life and his friend went to prison.
That’s why I started producing educational programs to help young people understand the dangers of drugs and substance abuse. I produced a whole library of videos and have been broadcasting them around the world teaching kids.
If you are in health services, law enforcement, or education, and want to help educate your kids, let’s get busy and convince them alcohol, tobacco, weed, and drugs of all kinds are dangerous. I’ve created some great teaching tools to help you teach them.
Join Me! If you like what I am doing and would like to help, click the link below and help us in any way you can. Your contribution will help me educate our kids.
I also welcome your feedback about any of the films I’ve produced or any concept that I have presented here. I’ve only been at it for 25 years and I’m still learning.
