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Opinion

Just Say No

By JOHN GATHRIGHT


ただ「ノー」と言いなさい

国連は世界規模で麻薬撲滅キャンペーンを展開すると発表した。だが、日本の若者にインタビューをした筆者は、彼らが「一度くらいなら麻薬をやっても大丈夫」などと思っていることに驚いた。そこで、筆者はある悲しいエピソードを紹介する—

Recently the United Nations announced that it was going to make a worldwide coordinated effort to battle illegal drugs and drug-related crime.

I support that effort as a founding member of Youth Against Drugs Aichi. Here are some responses Japanese youths gave during an interview that I did for our "Stop Drugs" campaign. Question: "Do you think that taking illegal drugs is a crime?" Answer: "Not really, if it doesn't hurt anyone. Many people take drugs without doing crimes." Q: "Do you think taking drugs even once is dangerous?" A: "I think it's OK to try anything once."

Drugs hurt everyone. Drugs are often grown by people under slavish circumstances. Drug wars, murders and hideous drug-related crimes occur even before drugs leave their country of origin. The fact that people buy causes other people to die.

Taking drugs the first time can kill you! Or cripple you for life. There are many facts about first-time overdoses or poisonings resulting from contaminated drugs that I could share, but perhaps the most compelling story I can tell is about one of my own good friends.

Julien ate, drank and slept basketball, and he was GREAT. He had natural talent that flowed from the tips of his fingers to the bottoms of his toes. He was a junior high school champion, a high school champion and a city champion. His dream to be a pro basketball player was shared by our whole high school and most of the city. So the news that he was picked to try out for the pros was huge. Our high school had a big party! Fans poured in from everywhere. I was one of hundreds who cried for joy when we saw him off at the airport.

Julien was my friend and my hero. We hugged long and hard when he left. Julien had his future in the palm of his hands. His dream was about to come true. He would have fame and fortune, but most of all he could play basketball with his heroes — the other pro ball players.

I was on pins and needles waiting for news of his success, so when the phone rang and I answered to his crying mother I was extremely surprised. Her heart was broken! She was so devastated she couldn't talk.

When the news finally came it felt like a stab in the heart and a punch in the stomach. I couldn't stand up. Julien was paralyzed! He was almost dead! He would never walk or play again!

The first night after he went to try out for the professional team there was a party for some of the new basketball players at a hotel. There were drugs at the party. Julien, who had never taken drugs before, must have been surprised when he was offered drugs by one of his pro basketball heroes. He felt he couldn't say no. Just once couldn't hurt. And he took them. Feeling excited, high and hallucinating, he was asked how high he could jump. He boldly answered, "I can jump to the next building!" But of course he never made it. I'll never know how many stories it was to the ground, but it was far enough that he broke his back and neck. Julien was wheeled off the plane on a stretcher. No cheers or fans, just a few brokenhearted friends and family met him.

Taking drugs just once cost Julien all his dreams, his future and more. It shamed and hurt his family and all who loved him. If you ask me, taking drugs is not a chance worth taking.


Shukan ST: July 10, 1998

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