The 2004 Monitoring the Future Survey found that 3.4 percent of high school seniors used methamphetamine (meth) at least once in the last year, while 3 percent of 10th grade students had given it a try. What could drive anyone to devour a toxic brew that contains, among many other things, anhydrous ammonia--a liquid fertilizer so corrosive it can burn the skin; red phosphorous--the chemical used in matches and road flares; iodine; battery acid; drain cleaner; and pseudoephedrine--an ingredient used in cold tablets?

Many teenage meth addicts say they started using meth because of low self-esteem or poor body image. "I felt powerful, like I could walk through walls." "Meth made me feel skinny and attractive." "I felt in control." "I finally felt like I fit in."

Francine Ward, author of "52 Weeks of Esteemable Acts: A Guide to Right Living" (Hazelden, 2005), said she learned that self-esteem comes not from telling yourself you are wonderful, but from doing "esteemable acts"--those things that move you from being a victim to being the person you've dreamed of becoming. Ward, a heroin addict and alcoholic by age 14, on the streets and homeless by 18, and a hooker by age 21, turned her life around with that discovery. Today she is a successful attorney who ran two marathons in her 50s.

Loving parents everywhere tell their children that they are special, that they can be whatever they put their minds to being. Television ads magnify this message by encouraging viewers to "just do it" and to "be all that you can be." Along the way, too much emphasis is placed on outcome, and young people who get less than As, or don't get that lead in the school play or make the football team, or who get teased because they are short or plump or flat-chested, can be left feeling ashamed, depressed, or stressed because they have failed. They are not who they think they are expected to be.

A 2002 study conducted at the University of Michigan found that college students who based their self-worth on external sources such as appearance, approval from others and academic performance, were found to have more stress, anger, academic problems, relationship conflicts, higher levels of drug and alcohol use, and symptoms of eating disorders. However, students who based their self-worth on internal sources such as being a virtuous person or adhering to moral standards, were found to receive higher grades and were less likely to use alcohol and drugs or to develop eating disorders.

Prevention programs that challenge young people to work cooperatively in community, to test their mettle in non-competitive outdoor activities, and to engage in service to others are right in line with the Twelve Step philosophy that incorporates the belief that "we become what we do." The Twelve Step program emphasizes how thoughts and actions towards others shape our own lives. Words and acts of kindness, generosity, thoughtfulness and forgiveness make us kinder, more generous, more thoughtful and more forgiving. Recovering people discover that helping others can keep them sober.

Drug and alcohol prevention requires more than saying "no." We need to get beyond the "what" of drugs and look more closely at "why" young people still suffer from low self-esteem and body image, despite our vast knowledge of the issues and our sincere efforts to boost self-worth. Maybe focusing more on character and "esteemable acts" and working side-by-side with our children in community are good places to start.

Ironically and tragically, kids who use meth because they think it will make them more attractive, popular, and confident, soon discover it does just the opposite over time. Meth can emaciate and scar bodies, rot teeth, and can cause brain damage, strokes, memory loss, and heart damage. It can induce paranoia and result in social isolation instead of the camaraderie and acceptance the youthful experimenter was seeking. It can make users angry and violent. And it can kill you.

--Published October 3, 2005