There's No Such Thing as Recreational Drugs - Brief Article

Parks & Recreation, Feb, 2001 by R. Dean Tice

I recently received a letter from Ms. Nina Roberts, a longtime member of NRPA and a Research Associate at the Student Conservation Association. She was sharing with me her disappointment in a recent TIME magazine article (January 15, 2001) entitled "Recreational Pharmaceuticals." The article used on more than one occasion the term "recreational drug use," a term that is the complete antithesis to what recreation is all about. She encouraged me to lead a charge to have magazines such as TIME stop using this phraseology and to have the pharmaceutical industry realize the error in this terminology.

I could not agree more.

The root of the word recreation is to re-create, to reenergize, and recharge the zest for life. There is no such thing as recreational drug use! Taking drugs for "partying" purposes or for "escapism" has nothing to do with recreation. While there are certainly legitimate usages of pharmaceuticals for people that need them as prescribed by medical professionals, this usage is therapeutic in nature, not recreational.

It is sad to see so many kids and young adults today become victims of drugs taken to "get high" or as I see it, to escape from real life. I'm not only referring to drugs such as Ecstasy, the "choice" drug of teens today, but taking real pharmaceuticals intended for medical purposes, and abusing them. I say the word victim but this is an instance where one is a victim by choice. And it is a poor choice.

Parks and recreation offers so many benefits to people of all ages, but we are especially cognizant of kids and young adults. The wayward path of individual self-destruction (and make no mistake about it, for some kids, it truly leads to serious self-destruction) often occurs in these formative years. It is very sad to know that there are so many true recreational activities available at thousands of park and recreation facilities that can give kids a natural feeling of well-being, satisfaction, and invigoration without falling into the trap of drug usage and dependency.

I sent a letter to the editors of TIME as well as to the leadership of the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers Association, the association that represents pharmaceutical companies. I shared with them our strong disagreement with the continued use of the terminology of "recreational drug usage" as well as relaying the vital importance of park and recreation services in keeping kids away from illegal and illicit drugs.

I encourage all of you to join with me in this endeavor. Letters to the Editor of TIME can be emailed to Letters@time.com, faxed to 212.522.8949 or sent via mail to TIME magazine Letters, Time & Life Building, Rockefeller Center, New York, NY 10020. Be sure to include your full name, address, and home telephone number. Letters to the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America can be sent to 1100 15th Street N.W., Washington, DC 20005.

R. Dean Tice Executive Director