Mt. Kisco Organization Holds Parent Support Meeting to Fight Substance Abuse

There is more that parents can do to guard their children from using alcohol and drugs.

That was the central message at the Mount Kisco Partners in Prevention first parent support group meeting held last Thursday evening. Partners in Prevention is a federally funded program that seeks to curtail underage drinking and drug use.

Coordinator Dr. Nan Miller said the organization provided funds for Fox Lane High School students to create a public service ad that has recently aired on local cable television stations. The ad was shown during the meeting.

The May 29 event was the initial support group meeting to help parents cope with their children’s exposure to drugs and alcohol, Miller said.

“We want to give parents support in tackling underage drinking,” she said.

The parents in attendance were addressed by two representatives of the Tarrytown-based Student Assistance Services: Judith Mezey, assistant director for community-based programs, and Andrea Fallick, assistant director for school-based programs.

Mezey informed parents of several slang terms for alcohol and drugs that parents should know, such as “shotgunning,” which means getting as drunk as possible as quickly as possible, and “Zanibars,” a term for prescription medications.

Mezey said “4:20” is slang for marijuana, which is more potent today than it was 10 or 20 years ago.

“We need to know the lingo. We must know what’s going on,” Mezey said.

One of the most negative aspects of marijuana use is that it impairs judgment, which can make an activity such as driving even more dangerous, she said.

Contrary to popular opinion, marijuana can be addictive. According to a Columbia University study, “people go into withdrawal” after they stop using it, Mezey mentioned.

Fallick, who has worked with Fox Lane students for nearly 20 years, said substance abuse can exact a toll on youths because the brain is not fully developed until people reached their mid-20s. Drugs and alcohol are also dangerous with teens because they take more risks than adults, she said.

A 2008 Partnership for a Drug-Free America survey found that 73 percent of the respondents used drugs and alcohol to deal with school pressure, Fallick said. Sixty-five percent stated that drugs and alcohol helped them feel better about themselves, while the same percentage did so to look cool, she said.

Parents must speak with their children and emphasize the need to reject alcohol and drug use and unwanted sex, Fallick said.

“We need to be good role models,” she said.

If a child uses drugs or alcohol for the first time, parents should be careful not to overreact but take the opportunity to teach them about its dangers. Appropriate discipline, such as confiscating a child’s driving privileges for a specific period, could be done in reaction to a first and second offense, Fallick said.

For a third instance, a parent ought to seek professional help for their child. If the child refuses, the parent must have the resolve to find the appropriate assistance, she said.

Fallick added that it was appropriate for parents to search their child’s room if they suspect drug or alcohol use.

For more information about Mount Kisco Partners in Prevention, visit its Facebook page at www.facebook.com/mountkiscopartnersinprevention.

Neal Rentz