Just Say No

In elementary school we had Red Ribbon weeks and SANE or DARE police programs to tell us that drugs and alcohol are bad.

In high school we had health classes to tell us the risks of certain drugs and the "Every 15 minutes" program dramatizing the dangers of driving under the influence.

In college we had were told that if we did drink, to drink responsibly. And we learned that drugs were bad and that we would be kicked out of housing. (Though I also learned in my drug and public policy classes that DARE and SANE education programs are ineffective.)

And in law school today, I learned that you shouldn't do drugs if you want to get a job in the government, particularly the Department of Justice (note that working in government and running for office are two different things). We also learned today from our newest moot court case that dealing cocaine is a felony. (I am excited to be the Commonwealth of Mass. who gets to prosecutor the dealer).

It's interesting how the same messages are taught over the years in different settings. From cute catchy slogans and programs in elementary school, to adding drama in high school to catch the attention of apathetic teenagers, to appealing to the skepticism of college students, and then finally getting to the point and speaking to the self interest of law students.

Whether it was my parents' teachings, a school message, or an adversion to losing control to anything, particularly my own body, I never had any interest in trying or doing any drug. So I guess I am lucky that I don't have to worry about my FBI background check.

[PS: If a few years down the road this is an FBI agent reading this blog as part of said check, you're not going to find anything interesting in here.]