Springville parents and students filled the SHS auditorium at last week's PTA/Youthnet Community Forum. They came to learn - to find out more about today's drug culture and about the factors that can protect families from the tragedies that accompany drug abuse. They were well instructed by Brad Barham, founder of Pathways - Real Life Recovery.

Barham shared some eye-opening facts with the audience. "Nine out of ten people who try methamphetamine are addicted after just one use. There is no experimenting," he said.

Ecstasy, a drug that pours serotonin into the user's system and mimics a spiritual high, is one of the most abused drugs in our community.

"Utah leads the nation in abuse of Oxycotin, a prescription pain-killer," Barham said.

He also warned plarents about the deception in the drug market today. "Drug 'marketers' are targeting kids, producing drugs that could easily be mistaken for familiar candies like Jolly Ranchers or Skittles," he said.

While these facts are discouraging and even alarming, we should not lose hope according to Barham. He introduced the notion of protective factors, including healthy communication, school involvement, peer programs and parent involvement.

"When protective factors for an at-risk child increase from three to six, the odds of that child staying drug-free increase from 32% to 86%," he said. "When protective factors are in our control, and we can provide activities that incorporate several factors relatively easily, we have a better chance of keeping young people away from drugs.

The protective factors he talked about were:

* Talk with our kids-- openly, frequently and credibly.

* Have dinner together at least once a week -- make it fun, find out what's going on with family members.

* Hold a weekly family activity night -- share values, talk and have fun together.

According to Barham, his counsel sounds familiar and perhaps too simple, but research has shown that we will significantly reduce the likelihood that our families will be caught in the devastating trap of substance abuse if we focus on activities that increase protective factors.

Barham closed with a statement from Joseph Califano, Chairman of the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University. "Parents are the most potent and under utilized tool in preventing substance abuse."

Caring adults need to understand that the "war on drugs" is best fought one family at a time.

To get more information on Barham's Pathways -- Real Life Recovery program, go to (http://pathwaysutah.com/).