Bobby and Mandee''s TOO WISE FOR DRUGS REFERENCE: THE D.A.R.E. PROGRAM (Drug Abuse Resistance Education) Hello again! I''m Bobby, and you know my sister, Mandee. In this book, we''re going to talk about something that can help you or harm you. We wish our friend Michael had read this book, because we are going to talk about drugs! Now, there are Good Drugs and Bad Drugs. Good Drugs are given to you by doctors, nurses, pharmacists, or your parents.
These are used when you''re sick or not feeling well. If these drugs are used correctly, you will feel better and get well. Then you can play again and have a great time. If these drugs are used when they are not needed, or if you use someone else''s prescription, then Good Drugs become Bad Drugs. Only use a prescription that is meant for you, and follow the instructions on when and how much to use. Now let''s talk about Bad Drugs. These never end up as a great time. They are bad for you.
Let''s first talk about how children, teenagers, and adults start using these drugs. Most often, people are offered Bad Drugs by a peer. Who is apeer, you ask? This is a person who is approximately your age Now we add another word to peer, this is pressure. Pressureis a force that acts on you to cause you to do something. For this book, peer pressure is the offering of something that is bad for you or will get you into trouble. This will be from a friend who is about your age. There are four kinds of peer pressure. The first one is known as friendly peer pressure.
Friendly is the one used the most often and the hardest one to say "NO" to. It is the hardest one because you''re afraid to say "NO" to a friend, especially a best friend. You worry that if you say "NO," they won''t be your friend anymore. Mandee and I are going to give you an example of how to say no and keep your friends. The first one is just to say, "No thanks." "Hi, Bobby, would you like to try this cigarette?" Now I have a problem. I don''t want the cigarette, but will Mandee be mad at me if I say no? This is what I am going to say, "No thanks, Mandee!" Then I am going to change the subject: "Let''s go watch cartoons on television." The second kind of peer pressure is called tempting peer pressure.
This is when they offer you something and it just sounds so good. Mandee and I will give you an example of this. "Hi, Bobby, would you like to drink this beer with me? Everyone is doing it, and you''ll look older. Plus, you''ll be cooler, and you''ll have more friends." I am going to give Mandee a reason why we shouldn''t do this. "Mandee, we have to go home. Mom is expecting us." If you are going to give a reason or an excuse, always tell the truth.
If you make up a reason or an excuse, you will probably get caught. Then your peers will think you are a liar. Don''t do this, because youdon''t want to be known as a liar. The third kind of peer pressure is called teasing peer pressure. There is fun teasing and bad teasing. This teasing is the bad teasing, the kind that hurts our feelings. Mandee and I know that some children will do anything to avoid being teased by other children this way. This may include doing something they don''t want to do.
You can try staying close to your friends or avoiding the people and places where you might get teased. This will usually keep you safe from teasing peer pressure .But sometimes a peer will just walk up and start teasing you in a way that will really hurt your feelings. If this happens, just ignore them by turning your back to them. This is called the cold shoulder. Here is an example of teasing peer pressure: "Hi, Bobby, would you like to try this marijuana?" "No, Mandee, Mom is expecting us at home." "Don''t be a wimp, Bobby. Take the marijuana, or you''re a chicken!" At this point I will just turn my back on Mandee and ignore her.
If she teases me again, I will walk away. The last kind of peer pressure is heavy peer pressure.It''s the one everyone is afraid of. Most people think it is when someone grabs you or points a gun at you and forces you to take drugs. But heavy peer pressure doesn''t happen this way. No one will grab you or point a gun at you. What they will do is threaten you with something like not being your friend anymore. "Hi, Bobby, would you like to try this cocaine?" "No, Mandee, cocaine is bad for you!" "Take it, Bobby, or I''ll tell everyone, and no one will be your friend anymore!" I will just say "NO!" and then I will WALK AWAY! Walking away is my very favorite refusal skill because it gets you away from what is being offered.
Walking away works with friendly, tempting, teasing, and heavy peer pressure. Also, always remember that if you are offered something twice, when they offer it the third time, say "NO" and WALK AWAY. Now that Mandee and I have taught you how to refuse, let''s look at what will happen if you agree to the drug that is being offered. The first thing that will change is you''ll have a different group of friends. These new friends won''t really care about you. They will only be your friend when they can get more drugs from you. Soon, your personality will change. Important things like family, good friends, and school won''t matter anymore.
People who use drugs don''t tell the truth anymore because the drugs have taken over their lives. The only thing they are thinking about is getting more drugs. To be able to buy more drugs, you''ll start stealing money and items that you can sell or trade for the drugs. You will probably steal from your family and the people who used to be important to you. Soon. you''ll be arrested for stealing. This will be very embarrassing. You''ll be handcuffed and taken to juvenile hall in the back seat of a patrol car.
Once you''re at juvenile hall, you''ll be booked just like yousee on television or in the movies. You will have to answer a lot of questions from the person booking you. After that, they will take away your clothes and make you wear a prison uniform. All of this just because you didn''t say "NO" and WALK AWAY from that offer by a peer. Remember, there is never a happy ending for anyone who uses Bad Drugs. Now for the really scary part. You, your parents, and your probation officer will have to go to court. A probation officer is a person appointed by the state to make sure you''ll behave.
A judge will listen to your case and then sentence you. The sentence may be more time in jail or community service. Community service is doing work such as picking up litter along highways while you are supervised by a law enforcement officer. The judge will also make you report weekly to your probation officer. Your probation officer will be much stricter with you than any parent ever has been. The probation officer can insist that you get up early in the morning and do your chores before going to school. After school, you will have to go straight home without spending time with your friends. Once you''re home, you will do your homework, eat dinner, and then go to bed.
The judge may also sentence you to counseling. This will be good because with help, you won''t need the drugs anymore. Needing drugs all the time is known as addiction. Addictionis the misuse of drugs. Without the proper help, your life will only self-destruct. You will continue to be addicted to drugs. You will keep stealing and breaking the law so you can get the drugs. You will be arrested more, and each time the sentences will get tougher and longer, from both the judge and your probation officer.
Hopefully somehow, you will stop. If you don''t, the drugs will win, and you will meet your end. Unfortunately, this is where our friend Michael is now, andnothing we can say or do will ever bring him back. REMEMBER: IF YOU THINK DRUGS ARE AWESOME, YOU''RE DEADWRONG! Mandee and I hope you enjoyed this book. Always remember that YOU HAVE THE RIGHT TO SAY NO AND WALK AWAY FROM PEER PRESSURE. QUESTIONS 1. Name the 2 kinds of drugs. 2.
Who gives you Good Drugs? answer on page 3 3. How do Good Drugs help you? answer on page 3 4. Can a Good Drug become a Bad Drug? How? answer on page 4 5. Should you take medicine that is prescribed for someone else? answer on page 4 6. Who is a peer? answer on page 7 7. How do most children start using drugs?; answer on page 7 8. Name the 4 kinds of peer pressure.; answer on pages 10, 15, 19, and 25 9.
Which kind of peer pressure happens most often and is the hardest to say "NO" to? answer on page 10 10. Name 3 ways you can say "NO" to peer pressure? answers on pages 12, 14, 17, 21, 24, and 28. 11. Show how to say "NO." answer on page 14 12. Give an example of changing the subject. answer on page 17 answer on page 14answer on page 14 13. Show how to give the cold shoulder.
answer on page 22 14. Show how to say "NO" and WALK AWAY. answer on page 28 15. Why is walking away Bobby''s favorite refusal skill? answer on page 28 16. Do people who use drugs tell the truth when asked questions? answer on page 32 17 What is something that happens to a person when they use drugs? answer on pages 31, 32, and 33 18. Do you think it will be fun to be arrested for using drugs? Why? answer on page 34 19. Is there ever a happy ending for anyone who uses Bad Drugs? answer on page 35 20. What happens to a child in juvenile hall? answer on page 35 21.
What is a probation officer, and what is their job? answer on pages 36 and 39 22. What is a judge, and what do they do? answer on page 37 23. What are some things that happen to a person who doesn''t stop u.