I read a newspaper ad some time in the past that stressed the problem of drug abuse by school children. It asked: “What is your child taking in school this year?” It then said: “Your child isn’t just learning about History and English in school. He’s also learning about amphetamines, barbiturates and marijuana.” Parents were then urged to talk with their children and get involved in fighting the drug problem.
 
I’m sure you are concerned about drugs in our schools. But there is a weakness and inconsistency in many of these efforts to fight drug abuse among children. Children are told to “Just say no” to drugs, while parents are merely told not to “abuse” drugs. Is there a distinction? Does such a message mean: “Children shouldn’t take drugs at all, but parents can take drugs as long as they don’t “abuse drugs”?
 
For example, take “social drinking.” You see, alcohol is a drug too! I will venture to guess that many of the leaders in the fight against drugs among young people are social drinkers. Hence, they use drugs too. The difference is that the drug they favor is in the liquid form, instead of the powder or pill form. So, the implication is that young people need to adhere to “total abstinence” but their parents leave the door open for “social drinking” by telling people they are not “abusing” drugs. Young people can see the inconsistency and hypocrisy in their parents, with their alcohol in one hand, telling them to “Just say no to drugs”! Prov. 20:1 says: “Wine is a mocker, intoxicating drink arouses brawling, and whosoever is led astray by it is not wise.”

Dennis Abernathy