Every year, the Roslyn Alliance Against Drug and Alcohol Abuse (RADA) sponsors the local observance of Red Ribbon Week during the last week in October. This national campaign is intended to raise awareness about substance abuse and promote the prevention of alcohol and drug use by the nation's youth.

This year, the effort has more prominence than usual because of a new coalition that the Roslyn Public Schools has formed in conjunction with the East Williston Public Schools and the religious leaders in our communities.

A number of highly publicized incidents involving teenagers and alcohol or drugs, some of them resulting in death, have prompted many Roslyn parents to confront this ongoing concern with a renewed vigor. The Coordinating Council of Parent Associations held a community forum last spring on the dangers of teenage alcohol use.

A month ago, we hosted a special religious leaders' meeting in Roslyn to talk about how we can keep this issue in the forefront. I presented a brief account of that meeting in my column. I am pleased to report that our newly formed and growing coalition against teen substance abuse met once again last week. Assemblyman Tom DiNapoli was there to lend his support to our efforts, and Senator Michael Balboni, who was unable to attend, has voiced his support as well.

Dr. Ron Savarese, a respected substance abuse counselor who has worked in many Long Island school districts, gave a presentation so that we, as educators and religious leaders, can be better educated ourselves about the nature and extent of the problem we are facing.

The problem is very challenging. Dr. Savarese reported that Americans spend $128 billion per year on alcoholic beverages, and one-fifth of that amount is spent by underage drinkers. Another $30 billion is spent on cocaine, and $11 billion on marijuana. The large business of drugs and alcohol means that easy availability is likely to continue indefinitely. Unfortunately, our underage teenagers have little trouble procuring alcohol and illegal drugs.

Any amount of drug and alcohol consumption can be harmful to the development of young people. In national surveys, 52 percent of high school seniors say they have used an illegal drug in the last 30 days. Many more are using alcohol. This is even more alarming when we consider that the marijuana that is available today is as much as 10 times more potent than what was generally available a generation ago.

Prevention is therefore of paramount importance. While education by our schools is imperative, communication among parents and children is vital to preventing students from getting involved in drinking and drugs in the first place. According to statistics cited by Dr. Savarese, youngsters who makes it to college without drinking or doing drugs are far less likely to experience substance abuse problems later in life.

In both districts, we have already begun the process of educating parents through special group sessions conducted by Dr. Savarese. He notes that while most parents are deeply concerned about their children's drinking and drug use, they simply don't know how to address this issue effectively and don't have enough information.

When it comes to communication, national surveys confirm the troubling results of a comprehensive survey conducted in Roslyn last year: the vast majority of parents say they communicate regularly with their children about drugs and alcohol, but many youngsters say they are hardly ever spoken to about the subject.

I will continue to meet with Dr. Carolyn Harris, the Superintendent in East Williston, Rabbi Michael White of Temple Sinai who has helped get this effort under way, and our elected officials to chart a path for our new coalition. Our goal is to significantly reduce the use of drugs and alcohol by our young people. There is no time to waste.