Martha was cleaning Calvin's room and she noticed some model airplane glue in his dresser drawer under some socks. "This is strange. Calvin is not working on model airplanes. Could it be?" she said to herself. "Oh, no, not my Calvin!" Martha was frantic! She called her husband at the office. "Now calm down, Martha," he said. "We will confront him tonight after school." When Calvin, age 14, walked in the room after school he knew he was in serious trouble. "Yes, I have been sniffing glue." "But why?" asked Martha. There was a long pause. "I don't know, Mom. I'm sorry. This is my first time. I promise you, I'll never do it again." Calvin's father and mother talked to the school counselor and they arranged for Calvin to join a youth drug awareness group.

Drug use among teens is on the increase. In a University of Michigan study in 1994, they found that "one of every five eighth graders had used inhalants..." The survey also found out "that 13-year-olds who sniff fumes to get high are more likely to grow into 15-year-old chronic abusers of illicit drugs." Herb Kleber, M.D., McCall's, April, 1995.

Drugs are easily available. "But SDA kids are not using them, are they?" According to the Valuegenesis Report 1, 11 percent of the seniors, in the study, had tried marijuana during the last year. In our society, no child is immune. So don't be naive.

"But why?" you ask. According to Peter Provet, Ph.D., it is very easy for youth going through the "turmoil of adolescence" to turn to drugs. They think that getting high will make life easier. Then, of course, there is teenage rebellion and they have been told by their peers that "drugs are cool." "And many `do' drugs just for prestige or popularity." Dr. Provet says, "No parent can sit back and complacently think `Not my child.'" McCall's April, 1995.

Linda Bernstein gives us five symptoms to look out for:

"Your child suddenly drops old friends to hang out with a new crowd.

"He becomes secretive and withdrawn, or inappropriately agitated or lethargic.

"She seems to be spending lunch money on something besides food or CDs.

"You find strange paraphernalia around the house: soda cans that smell like gasoline; plastic bags with a chemical odor; small colored bottles; small mirrors and razors....

"Your child has suspicious physical symptoms: a chronic runny nose or bloodshot eyes even when he doesn't have a cold; regular headaches; abrupt changes in sleep patterns.

"Expensive items--tape decks, TVs, video-game players, leather jackets--disappear from your child's room or money is missing from your wallet." "Drugs in the 90's," McCall's, April, 1995.

What to Do. Begin educating during the kindergarten years. Tell about the dangers, how serious it is. Steve Dnistrian, suggests five strategies:

1. Tell kids the truth about drugs, but be careful not to exaggerate. Kids know that smoking marijuana once in a while won't fry their brains. Be sure to get the facts straight.

2. Ask general questions such as, "I hear a lot of kids are sniffing gas. What's going on in your school?

3. Be sure to listen to your kids without interruption and getting angry.

4. "Just say `No,'" is unrealistic advice. They must learn why they should not use drugs.

5. If you have used drugs, be honest with your kids and say, "Yes, we tried drugs, but we are very sorry we did. We really did not know the danger. Besides, marijuana is ten times as stronger now as it was when I was your age." Adapted--McCall's, April 1995.

Probably the most important bulwark against drugs will be the quality of the relationship you have with your children. Be sure and provide plenty of fun times with your kids. Do things together. Hobbies, bicycling, water sports, etc. Often say, "I love you. I want you to have a very happy life."

If your children are convinced that you really do care, they are not likely to experiment with drugs. "The youth in this age must be fitted by the grace of Christ to meet and overcome evils which have been introduced into society....There should be a living, growing interest in storing the mind with Bible truth. The precious knowledge thus gained will build a barrier about the soul." Counsels on Sabbath School Work, p 36.