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| Vol. 22, No. 9 |
| May 15, 2000 |
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Physicians and Lawyers Team Up to Send Message About Drugs by KRISTINA VAN ARSDEL Texas Medical Center News
Dr. Bruce Edison and his son Andrew, an attorney with Bracewell &Patterson, returned to Andrew's middle school recently. However, it wasn't a social visit. They were there to provide straight answers to students about the serious consequences of drug and alcohol use. And they did more than just talk - they showed the students what could happen to their bodies and to their lives at the hands of drugs and alcohol. "We don't hold back any punches," says Dr. Edison, an otolaryngologist in private practice. "We let them know there are a lot of drugs out there. They are going to get exposed to them all the time and they have got to make these decisions." The Edisons are one of 21 physician/lawyer teams that spoke to approximately 1,600 fifth- and sixth-grade students at Houston-area schools on Thursday, April 27, as part of the IDEA Program (Interprofessional Drug Education Alliance). Since its inception in 1992, this collaborative effort of the Harris County Medical Society and the Houston Bar Association has reached more than 15,000 students in many local school districts. The teams make presentations at the schools twice a year. Dr. Mary Geda, a pediatrician, became involved with the program at its inception and is now the co-chairperson of the Houston effort. She says she hopes these students come away with the realization that drugs and alcohol are detrimental to their bodies and carry very serious legal consequences. Using visual aids such as handcuffs, a jail uniform and pathology specimens of tissues damaged by smoking, alcohol and drugs, the Edisons demonstrate the realities of substance use - both the medical effects it can have on one's body and the legal ramifications of one's actions. In addition, the students watch a video that discusses what happens when someone goes to jail. "You have to go in realizing these kids are not uninitiated," says Dr. Edison. "As a matter of fact, statistics show that junior high and high school students drink more than a third of all the wine coolers sold in the U.S. and that based on this, it is important to give them this information early." Aware that these students will be of driving age in a few years, Dr. Edison also presents statistics to them about the number of accidents caused by alcohol or drug use and the number of deaths that result from such accidents. "You walk out of it knowing you are not going to change all of these kids, but that hopefully you are going to educate those who know very little," says Dr. Edison. "Maybe some of those kids who are starting out with these drugs already will have second thoughts before they try it again." The American Medical Association and the American Bar Association developed the concept of the IDEA program and initially provided the materials.
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