More warnings needed

Detroit Free Press: Amid all the maize and blue and green and white and Halloween costumes and pumpkin paraphernalia on display this week, you may spot the occasional red ribbon. That's because in addition to Big Game Week and trick-or-treat week, this is National Red Ribbon Week, highlighting efforts to stop drug use among young people.
Surveys show that 53 percent of American teen-agers will at least have tried an illegal drug by the time they graduate from high school. More than three-quarters will have used alcohol, 48 percent will indulge in marijuana, and 12 percent will try some kind of inhalant.
Understanding the risk
According to the Partnership for a Drug-Free America -- the folks who produce the attention-getting anti-drug TV spots -- the most effective deterrent for young people who might experiment with drugs is an understanding of the risk involved. And most teens, research shows, report that they get that message from informational programs at school. They may shrug or snicker during the video, peer pressure being what it is, but some of the warnings evidently are getting through.
School programs do not, however, absolve parents from setting an example or from having those uncomfortable conversations about the very real dangers of drug use. Different kids may react to different warnings ... but parents ought to go over them all.