“Everybody does it.”¬† The statement is a mantra among high school kids, for whom the label of “being different” can mean a one-way ticket to loserdom.¬† It’s the defence for the slacker who wants company when he’s skipping class.¬† It’s the¬†girls waving off with indifference why they shoplift jewellery.¬† Or it’s a little nudge among buddies to push the one sober kid to smoke his first joint.¬†

This peer-on-peer power of persuasion is what parents want to combat when they tell their kids to stay away from drugs.¬† Lucky for them, they have mammoth advertising crusaders to help them achieve their anti-drug message.¬† While I was in high school in the 1980′s, the campaign to ‚ÄòJust Say No’ was introduced to curb the growing use of recreational drugs among kids.¬† As I recall, drug use was not as rampant then as it is now, and I had no trouble staying away from the stuff.¬† But then, I was never one to buckle under peer pressure, either.¬† My parents spoke openly about every vice known to humankind and did a fine job of scaring the heck out of me and my siblings if we were ever caught doing any of them.¬†

When I was about 15, my father offered some sage advice: “Don’t try them, because you might like them.”¬† Somehow that statement resonated with me.¬† I never forgot it, and I steered clear of pot, even as friends took up the habit.¬† If that same advice came from a glossy poster rather than my dad, I would have likely ignored it.¬† While the ‚ÄòJust Say No’ campaign was a valiant effort that may have had a mild effect on teen drug use, it was also great fodder for parody and practical jokes.¬† All you had to do was step into the local ‚ÄòIt Store’ to find a “Say no to crack” poster that featured a vertical inch of¬†plumber butt¬†creeping out of a pair of drooping pants.¬†

The latest anti-drug campaign to hit the high school market is by the Sound Advice Project.¬† It features a bracelet uniquely designed by the parent.¬† Here’s how it works:¬† the parent visits their web site and records a statement to remind her child to stay away from drugs (in the commercial the mother says “I believe in you.”)¬† A bracelet is then created in a design that mimics the shape of the sound wave.¬†

It’s a unique idea.¬† The strength of this campaign, however, is its emphasis on the importance of communication between parent and¬†teen, as the¬†commercial states “kids whose parents talk to them about drugs are up to 50% less likely to use drugs.”¬† The bracelet idea, while very sentimental, is a touch gimmicky.¬† Will a teenager actually wear a brightly coloured bracelet designed by their parents for the explicit purpose of telling them that they don’t want them to do drugs?¬† That’s hard to know.¬† Sure, kids value their parents’ beliefs and advice, but how many would be willing to announce their loyalty so openly?¬† Isn’t that kind of, well, dweebish?¬†¬†

The latest statistics in drug use show the tide is turning among teens.  According to Statistics Canada, usage almost doubled from 1994 to 2004 among every age group except 15-17 year olds (and those aged 65 years and older).  Among the 15 to 17 year old group, a third of them reported having used marijuana or hashish in the previous year(2003).  More current research that tracked cannabis use between 2002 and 2006 in 31 countries across (mostly) Europe and North America indicates that drug use is now actually declining among teens. 

Canada, the country with the highest rate of drug use among teens, at 30% of boys and 28% of girls, also showed the largest drop in usage.  It was down 13 percent among boys (from 2002) and almost 10 percent among girls.

Are all the advertising campaigns to fight drugs finally paying off, then?¬† Perhaps they’re helping.¬† But the research indicates the driving force in the decline has more to do with changing social habits than anything else.¬† The study found the “more frequently adolescents reported going out with their friends in the evenings, the more likely they were to report using cannabis…. Across countries, changes in the frequency of evenings spent out were strongly linked to changes in cannabis use.”¬† That is, as kids cling more and more to their online tools to communicate (email, mobile phones, social networking sites), they are cutting back on face-to-face time.¬† Less hanging out, less opportunity to light one up with the buddies.¬† Perhaps the next great campaign to end all anti-drug campaigns should just hand out cell phones and tell parents to keep their kids at home.¬† There’s got to be a better way than that, but the latest research offers two simple, yet powerful tools to help parents keep their kids away from drugs.¬† Talk to them about it (or even better – about everything) and keep them busy enough that they don’t have the¬†time or desire to spend hours just hanging out with friends every other night of the week.¬†