EDITOR'S NOTE: These entries in the Marland You Are Beautiful student contest,which will be forwarded to the state competition,were addressed to Gov. William Donald Schaefer.State winners will be invited toa luncheon reception with the governor.
GRADES K-2 CATEGORY
Bad drugs can make you sick or kill you!
Good drugs can make you healthy or even save your life.
And definitely don't take good or bad drugs from strangers.
Only take drugs from your mom or dad or doctor.
The first-grader is the daughter of Dollie and Duston Mersinger.
GRADES 3-5 CATEGORY
My idea for the Maryland You Are Beautiful Contest (the commercial) is the following:
When the commercial first comes on, show a party with a bunch (about 6) of teen-agersdrinking and doing drugs.
Just show that picture long enough for someone (no one in particular) to say "If you drink or do drugs than this..."
Then switch to a scene showing a graveyard at night with owls whooing. Then finish the sentence by saying "...will become yourhome!"
Then pause for a second. Then say "Think about it!" Then turn the commercial off.
This is the end of my commercial.The fifth-grader is the daughter of Paul and Suzanne Hill.
GRADES 6-8 CATEGORY
I feel very strongly about what I'm about to tell you.
I hope you will take some of my ideas and apply them within the state.
Inmany Maryland schools there are certain students that have a drug problem and would like to get help, but don't know how. So the state could set up a program through the school counselors at the schools so that teen-agers could get the help they need.
From a personal experience, I think that this will help, because one of my mother's closefriends might be around today if he had gotten help.
This could prove beneficial to the community because there would be fewer drug-related accidents in the community.
Another possible solution to the drug problem in the community is to set up a peer program in eitherthe local recreation center or in a local school auditorium.
By setting this peer program up in the community, people that have a drugproblem could come to the meetings to talk about their problem and could meet people with the same problem.
This wouldn't cost the state or the community a great deal of money. The only thing that would have to be paid for is a rehabilitation counselor to teach the program. You could have the program in the local school auditorium.
As for benefits to the community, I feel there would be fewer teen-agers and adults in the community with a drug problem.
A final way that we could put a stop to the drug problem in the community is to set upa free rehabilitation program in a recreation center or even in churches. If you were to do this, I think that as a teen-ager I would want to get help for my problem.
I also think that by setting this upmore teen-agers would start getting help and then by talking about their problem they would build up enough courage to tell their parentsabout their drug problem.
With the idea of a rehabilitation counselor, they should be able to offer both emotional and social counseling to the teen-agers in the programs.
Well, as you can see from the beginning of my letter, I feel very strongly about getting teen-agers with a drug problem the help they need.
I sincerely hope that you will use my ideas to give Maryland teen-agers the help they need.
The eighth-grader is the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Glenn Hopple.
GRADES 9-12 CATEGORY
Today, drug abuse is a growing problem among teen-agers in the United States.
On a smaller scale, there is also adrug problem in Maryland.
Teen-agers today are experimenting withdrugs almost as much as they were in the '60s. For the drug problemsto decrease, the younger generations have to be educated and see thehorrors of drug use.
I feel having a display, such as a "crack house" to show what happens to drug users, is an effective way to influence kids.
The "crack house" would be modeled after a Halloween haunted house.
However, instead of ghosts, vampires and maniacs with chain saws, there would be actors portraying the drug pushers and users.
The beginning part of the house would be devoted to the effects of peer pressure. Many times kids are started on drugs by their friends. If kids complain about a problem, they are offered drugs by friends saying the drugs will make them feel better.
As the problem continues, the person relies more and more on drugs. Pretty soon, they are addicted and feel they can't live without the drug.
This is a contributing factor to stress because if kids are smart enough tonever start using drugs, then the drug problem will eventually be solved.
As the patrons continue through the house, they will be ableto see how drugs are addictive and how they can ruin your life. Demonstrations will show the symptoms and how drug users can never get enough of the feeling of euphoria.
Instead, they take bigger and bigger doses to relieve their letdown -- also known as a "crash." However, drug users don't realize that each time they take a bigger dosage the crash gets longer and harder.
Pretty soon, they need the drug all the time and will do anything to get it. If they run out of money, a lot of drug abusers will resort to stealing and other crimes to get drug money.
Many of these abusers are arrested and put in jail with their lives completely ruined. Finally, the last room in the house will have a coffin with a corpse in it. This is the last stage and, hopefully, will prove that drugs kill.
To make this project work, it will take a lot of participation from the youth of the area. I feel teen-agers should be used to run the house because they are the ones who will benefit.
If they see how drugs are bad for them, it will make them think twice before they go and use them.
I also think that anybody wanting to work on the project should be allowed. If people are turned away, they won't share the experience that the ones working on it will. There should be many types of people and many ages to work at the house.
If there is good advertising around the local schools, there shouldn't be any problem getting people who want to help. To get everyone involved is the most important thing.
The benefits from the "crack house" are very important. I feel that if kids visualize the reality of drugs and their destruction, then they will be less tempted to use drugs when they are offered them.
This should lower the number of kids using drugs and, indirectly, lower thecrime and death rates. This will improve the society and give more time to solving other serious problems, such as homelessness and education.
Another benefit is that all the profits from the "crack house" will be given to local rehabilitation centers for those who are trying to recover from drug abuse.
However you look at it, the "crack house" is a great project.
The "crack house" exists in Baltimore, and has been open for over two years. This is a great idea and there should be one in every county of the state of Maryland.
I feel that for kids to learn, there has to be a purpose or something fun tomake them interested. This project is a great way to show the kids of today the horrors of drug abuse and uselessness of starting drugs.
The "crack house" gets the point across, far better than sitting in a classroom.
The 10th-grader is the son of Richard and JoAnn Dickensheets.