| Dear
Editor,
Congratulations on your newsletter, which provides
sensible, useful information that seems unavailable
elsewhere. I especially appreciated the inclusion
of The Fall Of Freddie The Leaf, one of the most moving
and hope-inspiring short pieces I have read. Who is
Leo Buscaglia?
Professor Ian Webster's article, The Focus On Young
People (Sept/Oct issue) I found very disturbing. On
the one hand it provides a sober, objective and thoughtful
summary of many of the major issues relating to drug
use by young people. On the other hand it raises many
more questions, and burning ones at that.
Why do we as a society project the social problem
of drugs onto young people, as if they invented it?
Why can't we admit that we are an addicted society
and start to cope with that fact?
Why are so few services accessible to young people?
Why the `inadequacies in mental health and supportive
services for young people'? Webster says that in the
Southwest of Sydney there are `virtually no accessible
services to which young people or their families can
be referred'. Why aren't young people consulted and
closely involved in efforts to deal with youth drug
use? The media could be used to provide a forum for
them to discuss the problems and possible solutions.
Maybe then the adult world would start to `comprehend
the aspirations of young people', as Webster says.
Why are `the prospects of meaningful and sustained
employment decreasing for young people'? What are
we as a society doing about 30% youth unemployment?
Why are we allowing some communities to break down
socially and economically, thus fuelling drug dependence
and crime? Why do we continue to `demonise the drug
problem among young people'?
It seems to me that until we as a society start to
face up to these underlying issues that are leading
to widespread breakdown, the drug problem among young
people cannot be effectively tackled.
Brendan Doyle
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