_Recommendation #9._
Learn about the effects of drug use, the reasons why drugs are
harmful, and ways to resist pressures to try drugs. Students can arm
themselves with the knowledge to resist drug use by:
. Learning about the effects and risks of drugs.
. Learning the symptoms of drug use and the names of organizations
and individuals who are available to help when friends or family
members are in trouble.
. Understanding the pressures to use drugs and ways to counteract
them.
. Knowing the school rules on drugs and ways to help make the school
policy work.
. Knowing the school procedures for reporting drug offenses.
. Knowing the laws on drug use and the penalties, for example, for
driving under the influence of drugs and alcohol. Understanding
how the laws protect individuals and society.
. Developing skill in communicating their opposition to drugs and
their resolve to say no.
_R. H. Watkins High School of Jones County, Mississippi, has
developed a pledge, excerpted below, which sets forth the duties and
responsibilities of student counselors in its peer counseling
program_.