Postcards to encourage parental involvement against drugs

Parents of children in the Andalusia City and Opp City school systems can expect to receive six postcards dealing with drug use in teens from the local children’s policy council.

Susan Short, director of the Covington County Children’s Policy Council Coalition said Tuesday that as part of the Drug Free Communities grant the agency received. it would send these postcards to bring awareness to dealing with drugs.

“We need to get to parents,” Short said. “We know our teachers are already (talking to the students). Data shows that not everyone is receiving information at home.”

Short said a recent visit to a local high school merited a discovery that a student said her mother would rather her smoke weed than take prescription pills.

“There’s a message going around that marijuana is safe and it’s filtering down to everyday people,” she said.

Short said the CPC will send 9,300 post cards over the course of six weeks to these homes.

“We didn’t have enough money to fund Covington County, as well.”

Short said the cards will be slick and colorful and contain messages such as how marijuana affects brain development; marijuana and driving and psychosis, just to name a few.

“We got the idea from a coalition in New York,” she said.

Short said she wants to ensure these cards get out before the Pride Survey is taken at local schools.

Plans are for students to take those in April or May.