While all drugs are dangerous, injected drug use is one of the most prevalent ways of contracting dangerous diseases like HIV/AIDS or Hepatitis C through sharing needles. There are so many new drugs available to young people today it is impossible to think they will never face a situation where they are offered a drug. We need to educate them before that moment comes. Drugs and alcohol cause young people to drop their guard, and that is when the predators move in. Often it is totally planned - pre-meditated, like with date-rape drugs.

Pushers lace candies, gum and soft drinks with drugs and offer them to children at a young age, to get them "hooked." A "hook" is a substance that is added to drugs, to magnify the effect of an already addictive substance - the drug itself - so that they act faster. Today, these "hooks" even contain carginogens.

In the past, it took several rounds with a drug to become addicted. Today, the pushers have upped the ante. These are highly addictive, deadly substances. They are not something to experiment with.

EDUCATION ABOUT THE CONSEQUENCES OF SUBSTANCE ABUSE THAT CAUSE YOUNG PEOPLE TO DROP THEIR GUARD

The consequences of trying a party drug "just once," or having sexual relations "just once" are not on the radar of many young people, who believe that their youth will protect them - that they are invincible. Through reports and stories on this site we try to explain complex scientific facts - for example, what "getting hooked" really means. We like to explain it in uncomplicated language, so that it is easier to understand. Frankly, it is difficult for adults to understand, so getting the real facts out to young people poses a challenge, but we are committed to it. We have published a book called "Harvest of Innocence," that includes some disturbing true stories about the fall out of substance abuse, but most of all they blow away myths and misinformation. They take the reader right into the situation, so there are no illusions about what drugs can do. The book was written specifically for young people, because they are risk takers. So are young adults, judging by the statistics. Parents contribute invaluable true stories about what they went through with their kids because they hope to prevent others from going through what they went through.

Most young people cannot grasp that the "hooks" and boosters put in drugs today are intended to get them addicted as fast as possible. The more "fixes" a person needs, the more profits the pusher makes. It is about money for the drug sellers. They do not care about the carnage and misery their products cause individuals. They do not care about their families, and the horrific side effects these lethal substances have on those they love.

Misinformation can be as deadly as having no information at all. For example, some people believe that AIDS is exclusively a gay disease. In New York City and across the United States, unprotected sex is the primary cause of the increase of HIV/AIDS, Hepatitis C and other dangerous STDs in young heterosexual Americans. Kids that do heroin, for example, share needles. All it takes is one encounter with an intravenous drug user who may have no outward signs of infection, and who probably has no idea he or she is infected. Early education is the most effective way of protecting them against the dangers.

"Harvest of Innocence" contains true personal accounts by people who are just like us. Their stories show how drugs can infiltrate anyone's family, at all levels of society. It is intended for people of all ages, most especially parents, teenagers and educators.

Please email Harvestml7@aol.com for more information or if you would like to share an experience or story.

We are also working on short educational films that will be available through Ashraya-New York - and another book.