Student essays point to dangers of drugs
By From staff reports
Published in News on December 14, 2010 1:46 PM
Wayne County middle school students recently participated in an essay contest sponsored by the Wayne County 4-H Prevention Program. More than 840 students in grades 5-8 wrote about why it was important to be drug free.
Winners were chosen at each school at each grade level. The top three winners each received a trophy and a gift card.
After all, "a drug is a substance that alters normal bodily functions when it is absorbed into the body" wrote student Jaleek Lewis.
"Do you really want to mess with your future?" asked Stephanie Lam.
Many students wrote about the negative health effects of drugs. Detavion West wrote "by smoking everything changes [be]cause you will want to do it again and then try something else that is a drug" if you choose to start.
Amber Denning wrote "personally find(s) it ridiculous how many people don't know the risks" of using drugs. "Doing drugs is a bad idea" concluded Jacob Brantley and Demetrius Shaw.
Samantha Reinier wrote that she knows "it's more than just saying no to the drugs but it's a problem that could affect your entire path of life by saying yes."
Amanda Wise agreed. "Drug addiction goes from being a voluntary choice to a physical need and it is more important to people than their family, friends and health," she wrote.
"You have to make the choice, look dumb and leave or do something you know is bad" wrote Frankie Porter.
"R is for resistance" wrote Jamortez Bostic. Austin Edelen wrote that he knows "the reason I would start to fail is because my brain cells will start dying" if he were to do drugs. Taylor Malpass noted that "Drugs are a waste of money."
The Wayne County 4-H Prevention Program works with youth on resistance skills. For more information, call Barbara Byers at 731-1527.