CRACK IS A DREAMBREAKER: PREVENTION REMAINS THE ANSWER DEALING WITH STUDENTS

Don E. Patton is associate director of Community Health and Emergency Services, Inc., of Cairo, Ill. He will be among the speakers Thursday and Friday at the 6th annual Health Lifestyles Conference at the Show Me Center. Patton's workshop, at 2 p.m. Friday, will be called, "Building Bridges: A Community Model to Prevention," about an innovative program being used in Cairo.

Multiple options are important in our daily lives. New ways of doing things must emerge if prevention is to be successful in impacting on our students.

Why prevention? Primary prevention programs are designed to discourage experimentation and, especially, regular drug use from occurring. In many ways, prevention strategies promote dreams. This message is best stated by the quote, "All of the generators in the world can't match the power of a dream."

Unfortunately, according to the experts in the field, one of the most used street drugs is crack cocaine. What is crack? The chemical cocaine hydrochloride is commonly known as cocaine. When a user freebases cocaine, they are actually removing the "hydrochloride" to make the drug more potent, in a ready-to-use form. "Crack" is solid free base cocaine; it is called "crack" because it snaps and "cracks" when it is dried.

Users should be aware that there are many adverse effects, and, as with any street drug, what is sold may not be what it is claimed to be. Some of the symptoms or bad effects can include: (a) convulsions, (b) heart rate increases with cardiac arrhythmias and possibly cardiac arrest, (c) blood pressure increase, and (d) a profound depression (possibly leading to suicidal behavior).

What are the steps to treatment of crack users? The first step is to contact your local alcohol and other drug abuse treatment facility to start a program of detoxification. Psychological support during the period of severe depression may help prevent suicide. Some residual symptoms of depression may last two weeks or longer. Reordering life's priorities and discontinuing all stimulant use are essential to successful treatment.

Of course, the best treatment is not to experiment with drugs at all; in essence, it's the best prevention.

For more information, contact your local prevention and treatment center.