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Drug Education: Making the Grade?
Produced by Jessica Greene
See how much you know about teens and drug use.
Take a quiz
1,T F Alcohol is the drug of choice for students in Pinellas County.
2,T F Nationally, illicit drug use is decreasing in middle and high school students.
3,T F The most frequent place for students in Pinellas County to drink alcohol is at a bar.
4,T F Teens say the most important problem they face is drugs.
5.T F The more affluent the neighborhood, the less likely drugs are to be found.
Answers following story.
Many people think experimenting with drugs and alcohol is a natural part of growing up. While some teens may try and then stop, others may have a harder time and the experiment may become a habit too hard to kick. In a recent study by the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University (CASA) teens said that drugs are the most important problem they face. Drug prevention techniques are one way to combat the problem. Saying no is part of the solution but the numbers show that "just saying no" is no longer the easy answer.
School is supposed to be about reading, writing, and arithmetic. But now hallways are sources for drugs like marijuana, heroin, and cocaine. The goods are not hard to find; 76 percent of high school students and 46 percent of middle school students say their schools are not drug free. How are the kids in our area learning to stay off drugs?
Pinellas students participate in drug education and prevention programs sponsored by DARE. Uniformed officers present situations for classes of 5th and 6th graders and show videos to push the message of the danger of drugs. Just how effective are programs like this? Regina Birrenkott is the Director of the Mendez Foundation responsible for drug education in Hillsborough County Schools. The programs focus on decision-making skills, peer pressure reversal, and violence prevention. Although the curriculum includes more than just drug awareness, Birrenkott says that there is never enough done to prevent kids from using drugs.
The DEA reports that from 1991 to 1996, illicit drug use rose consistently in 8th, 10th, and 12th graders. If that's not surprising enough, kids say they are buying and using drugs in the same schools where they are being taught to refuse them. None of the numbers surprise Gulfport Police Detective Jeff Morelock. Earlier in his career, Morelock went undercover in Florida high schools as a narcotics agent. On his second day working undercover, he says, a 16-year-old student offered him an ounce of cocaine for $1200. His book Drugs in High School: The Disturbing Truth, offers a look into the world of drugs in public schools. It shows the places students sell drugs, hide them, and how parents can tell if their kids are in the drug zone.
Hillsborough County Schools have not surveyed student drug use since 1993. The numbers even three years ago were revealing. Nearly 4 percent of 12th graders reported smoking marijuana at school and said they used alcohol, uppers, downers, and hallucinogens on school grounds.
It's not thought of as a drug by many kids, but alcohol is making its mark on students in middle and high schools also. Cigarettes and alcohol are often thought of as "gateway drugs", leading to more substances. The size of your house and income are no deterrent to the harmful substances. Nineteen-year-old Whitney Dean who knows all too well the consequences of drug abuse. The teen says she began using when she was 13 or 14-years-old. She started out experimenting with alcohol and drugs. Eventually, she found herself addicted and ran away from home several times.
The Deans thought they had it all...two daughters who excelled in academics and athletics, a house in a quiet suburban neighborhood, and high hopes for their futures. Little did they know, their daughter was experiencing highs of a different kind. Three treatment centers and thousands of dollars later, Whitney is sober and sharing her stories with others for a living. Whitney's mother Karen says she may have noticed her daughter's problem if she had been aware of the signs and symptoms of drug use and abuse.
Signs and Symptoms:
-Physical: lasting fatigue, red and dull eyes, and steady cough
-Emotional: personality change, low self-esteem, and general lack of interest
-In school: drop in grades, many absences, and discipline problems
-Social: changes in clothing and music taste that reflect less conventional styles, trouble with law
Knowing signs and symptoms is one way to help detect the possibility of drug use in kids. But the best way parents can help insure their teens stay out of trouble is to talk to them openly and frequently about the dangers they face. So when we ask, is drug education making the grade? The answer is clear that we all still have a lot of homework to do.
Quiz Answers
1. True. Recent alcohol use in all grades surveyed ranged from 11.4 percent in 5th graders to 61.4 percent in 12th graders.
2. False. DEA surveys show a steady increase in illicit drug use including LSD or other hallucinogens, cocaine, and heroin in 8th, 10th, and 12th graders.
3. False. Most frequent students reported drinking alcohol is at a party.
4.True. A CASA study shows 35 percent of teens say drugs are the biggest problem they face, followed by social pressures at 19 percent, and sexual issues at 8 percent.
5. False. CASA shows the affluence of the community in which the school is located has no bearing on the number of signs of trouble found in the school.
CASA
Kids Campaign
Teens: Alcohol and Other Drugs
Drug Enforcement Agency