Drugs

[waynemargaret2509]

Do you feel that a course helping adult leaders identify drug abuse would be helpful?

[evmori]

I don't feel this is necessary. It isn't hard to figure out if someone is on drugs. It's sort of like knowing if someone is an alcholic.

 

Ed Mori

Scoutmaster

Troop 1

1 Peter 4:10

[NJCubScouter]

This type of information (in written form, not as a class) is generally available to parents, outside the Scouting context. I am not sure where it comes from, but I know there are pamphlets floating around that tell you how to tell if your kid is on drugs. As parents, we should be aware of this information. Of course, not all Scout leaders are parents, and some parents may not have educated themselves on this subject. I don't think a course is necessary, but I do think the information in written form should be available to leaders (and parents) who desire it. Perhaps this is already the case, I don't know.

[SagerScout]

Ed -

 

Although my vote is that this is NOT necessarily needed training for scouters, I do respectfully disagree with your assessment that this is easily determined. I offer as proof my sister's ex-husband, who successfully concealed a whopping drug problem not only from us (a close knit family of 5 intelligent adults with a full complement of spouses) but also from her, until his abuse caused him to steal 10K from his employer, at which time the jig, as they say, was up.

 

Later events revealed that his use pre-dated their marriage, and she did not have a clue despite having volunteer experience in drug counseling centers. He knew that she had a low opinion of drug use, he cared for her, and so he carefully hid his habit. Being a highly intelligent, well-educated, handsome, talented, and charming man, he was successful for quite a long while. Here's a news flash: Drug addicts are not all bums! (the marriage did not survive but the man did; by the grace of God, he turned to Christ a few years later and IMHO was a reasonably good father after that time, with some reservations. )

 

And my OTHER brother-in-law - who is still married to my other sister - managed to conceal a prescription drug habit to the point that my sister was surprised when he voluntarily committed himself to a rehab center (obviously successfully as they are still together). Again, this sister has a frighteningly high IQ, has completed all coursework for her doctorate, and is an ordained minister in the UCC so she ain't no dummy with no people skills. She is also a recovered alcoholic herself, sober for 20 years now, and as she put it to me, if it had been ALCOHOL she would have spotted it immediately but since it was prescribed medications she didn't have a clue.

 

And for the final support for why I don't think it's easily determined, my step-daughters are now figuring the statute of limitations has run out on their youthful indiscretions and so they are now 'fessing up - and while I was not at all surprised to hear that they used drugs and alcohol during their teens, I was stunned to hear how young they were when this started (eleven, in one case). They did not live with us at the time and we were not close then for a bunch of complicated reasons; I don't know if their mother knew or not.

 

Now, why don't I think we need to add training in spotting it? Well, because I've HAD that training and in my opinion training and a dollar will get you a cup of coffee.

 

 

 

[rlculver415]

I have to agree with SagerScout. If a loved one is scared bloodless to be caught with a drug habit, even alcohol, they can hide it successfully. I have a daughter,who in high school, did an excellent job of deception. I'm neither blind, nor stupid, nor untrained and still I didn't know until she told me herself about the drugs and the alcohol.

[evmori]

Yeah, you guys are right. It's easy to hide a habit you want no one else to know about. I think the key is educating people about the hazards of drug use & abuse. I don't feel it is the job of the BSA to do this, though. There are programs in schools & elsewhere that deal with this issue.

 

Ed Mori

Scoutmaster

Troop 1

1 Peter 4:10

[Quixote]

Being exposed to additional training is never bad in my opinion - i think this should be covered in Youth Protection. Just raising the awareness is often enough to cause someone to ask questions that could lead to a young person to come clean (literally and figuratively).

 

YIS

Quixote

[ASM7]

We are the cutting edge youth organization in the world. We don't need to be blind to the drug problem. Yes, anyone on drugs is an expert on concealing it. We have policies on smoking and drinking during Scout functions because of their bad effects on the human body. These two drugs are some of the most habit forming. Most everyone who is now a leader, was a child of the sixties and seventies and saw or experimented with some form of illegal drug. By the grace of God, we all made it through those years. The point is if you look back, you realize how easy it was to obtain anything you wanted. So we have to assume it is just as easy now or easier. So, yes we do need some form of drug awareness training in Scouting. Just how it should be presented, I will leave up to the professionals.

[mattbib]

Yes, it is our responsibility as leaders to be able to identify any hazard to our youth. The program is not solely camping and merit badges. It's our duty as moral people and good citizens to be able to help the youth we're entrusted to live healthy, full lives, up to and including alcohol/drug prevention. If we're able to identify a problem and alert the Scout's parents of our concerns, it may be dealt with by the youth's family, minister, counselor, etc. before the problem infects the troop and you end up with addicted or dead boys.

 

The number of abused drugs is on the rise and it is very easy to hide this abuse, especially when the drugs of choice are prescription medicine and over the counter supplements (ritalin, GHP, etc.). Any training that would enable us as leaders to prevent or identify drug use would be welcome.

[SagerScout]

Our program is already an anti-drug program. Why? Because it involves a ton of positive reinforcement and recognition, caring adults who enjoy spending time with their own kids and other teens, and a lot of activities that are plenty of fun while stone-cold sober. Who needs drugs when you've got all that?

 

 

 

 

[Eamonn]

Some time back, when I was acting as a Roundtable Commissioner, I invited the local Drug And Alcohol County Team to make a presentation.

It was very interesting, but went into a lot more detail then, we really needed to know. There was a lot of stuff about where drugs are hidden. In things like dummy pop cans. Drinks that can be purchased on the net, that can cover up drug use from employer drug tests.

I voted no.To the training idea.

While we have the BSA, Drugs A Deadly Game,maybe we could do more with our youth to explain the evils of drugs.

I do have some concerns about, what, and how much non-syllabus material people are adding to the Youth Protection Training.

This is where some of the "Misinformation" that keeps cropping up comes from.

We do not have the right to keep adding more and more material to these trainings, worse still we have no right to add anything when it is wrong.

We have in the past few months talked about, the BSA, position on Smoking, Alcohol, and illegal drug taking. To my mind the position is clear.

While I think that the training we offer at this time is really good, we have to be careful, that we don't go overboard.