STUDENT DRUG, ALCOHOL USE WIDESPREAD

Fifteen Percent of Seventh-Graders Have Tried Alcohol at Least Once

Murphy - Cherokee County's high school juniors began drinking alcohol
at an average age of 13, but today's seventh-graders are starting to
partake in at-risk behaviors such as smoking and drinking as early as
age 11. In December, more than 500 students voluntarily took part in
the Pride survey, an anonymous questionnaire about tobacco, alcohol
and marijuana use. The responses revealed to the community at the
Cherokee County Drug Coalition's Feb. 6 meeting earned a reaction of
shock and concern. Similar surveys for parents about how they
perceived their children and drug use were sent home. More than 35
percent - or 435 parents - responded, which is better than the
national participation rate of 20 percent. Dr. John Crosby, director
of the coalition, said parents will be surprised to find out how many
of their children are actually consuming drugs - not just tobacco,
alcohol and marijuana, but also cocaine, methamphetamine and heroin.
The key to keeping students off drugs was found to be directly
related to involvement in extracurricular activities, faith-based
programs and parental concern. Of 238 seventh-graders surveyed, 12.1
percent admitted to using tobacco, 15.1 percent drink alcohol and 2.2
percent have smoked marijuana. Of those, 1.3 percent admitted to
using tobacco daily or weekly and 12.1 percent use it annually.
Fifteen percent of seventh-graders drink alcohol annually, 4.7
consume monthly and 3.4 drink weekly, a fact that astounded Crosby.
As far as when they began using drugs, seventh-graders said they
began using tobacco at an average age of 10.9, 11 for alcohol and
12.1 for marijuana. "Decisions are made well before they get into
middle school," said Sue Lynn Ledford, director of the Safe Schools,
Healthy Students project. The numbers escalated dramatically for the
193 ninth-graders polled: 31.1 percent have used tobacco, 34.6 have
consumed alcohol and 10.5 have experimented with marijuana.

These ninth-graders also were found to consume drugs more frequently,
with 7.4 percent consuming tobacco daily, 14.7 weekly, 18.4 monthly
and 31.1 annually. Almost seven percent of high school freshmen
admitted to drinking alcohol weekly, 15.7 percent monthly and 34.6 at
least once a year. Freshmen reportedly began using tobacco on average
at age 11.8, drinking at age 12.9 and smoking marijuana at 13.

A sampling of 105 11th-graders participated in the survey, revealing
that 36.2 use tobacco, an astounding 53.3 drink alcohol and 17.3 use
marijuana. Seventeen percent of juniors reportedly use tobacco daily.
That same number admitted to drinking alcohol weekly and smoking
marijuana annually. More than 53 percent said they drink at least
once a year. Nearly four percent drink daily.

High school juniors reportedly began using drugs slightly later in
life than their seventh- and ninth-grade counterparts. They reported
12.2 as the average age when they began using tobacco, 13.1 for
alcohol and 13.4 for marijuana. It also was true that the older the
student, the higher the percent who perceived that tobacco, alcohol
and drugs were easy to get. For instance, 19.5 percent of
seventh-graders perceived getting alcohol as easy, compared to 61.8
percent of 11th-graders.

A direct correlation was found between students of all ages who never
or seldom take part in school activities, make good grades, attend
church and whose parents set clear rules about drugs and those who
use tobacco, alcohol or marijuana.

For example, 66.7 percent of students who said they never make good
grades reported using illicit drugs, while only 5.3 percent of
students who use drugs said they make good grades a lot.

Parent involvement appeared to play a large factor in students' drug
use. Forty percent of students who perceived that their parents
seldom set clear rules about drugs admitted to using drugs, while
only 6.4 percent of students used drugs when they perceived their
parents set rules a lot. In addition, students whose parents talk a
lot about the dangers of drugs were less likely (7.5 percent) to use
illicit drugs. But of the students whose parents never talk about the
dangers of drugs, 24.6 percent admitted to using drugs.

"The kids know their parents disapprove of alcohol, tobacco and
marijuana, and yet they do it anyway," Crosby said.

Startlingly, 97.4 percent of parents believed their children did not
use drugs, and 97.1 percent thought their children did not drink
alcohol. "That shows how naive we are as parents. We have to pay
close attention to what the kids are saying," Ledford said.

Even more than parents, students were reportedly more influenced by
their peers. Of high school juniors surveyed, 100 - or 86 percent -
perceived that their parents disapproved of marijuana use, but only
67 percent of those same students perceived that their friends
thought marijuana use was wrong. The older the students got, the less
they perceived that their friends disapproved of at-risk behaviors.
Where 87.2 percent of seventh-graders believe their friends
disapprove of tobacco use, only 42 percent of 11th-graders think
their friends disapprove. The numbers were similar for alcohol consumption.

The place where students most frequently use drugs is at a friend's
house, as compared to home, school, in a car or unspecified other
locations. A whopping 23.8 percent of juniors who use tobacco and
37.1 who use alcohol do it at a friend's house.

However, among seventh-graders who use tobacco and alcohol, 7.1
percent of students surveyed are likely to drink at home and 5.5
percent smoke at home. High school freshmen were more likely to smoke
at home (15 percent) or drink at home (16.1 percent) than anywhere else.

"Here is the thing that begs the question: Where is the supervision?"
Crosby asked. Students also were polled as to when they consumed
drugs. An overwhelming majority of juniors were more likely to use
tobacco (24.8 percent), alcohol (35.2 percent) and marijuana (9.5
percent) on the weekends, as compared to before school, during
school, after school or on weeknights. The same trend was true in
slightly smaller proportions for seventh- and ninth-graders. At
school, a surprising 4.8 percent of juniors admitted to smoking
marijuana and 5.7 percent drink alcohol, while 14.3 percent use
tobacco during school. "You can see it. It's not hard to pick it out
if you just look," said Ledford, a longtime school nurse. "If you're
alert, you can see it in their eyes." No students in seventh and
ninth grades reported using alcohol or marijuana in school. Ledford
believes there is another direct correlation between students who use
tobacco, alcohol or marijuana, those who participate in premarital
sex and those who drop out of school.

"Once they cross that bridge to use that substance, it makes it
easier to use another," Crosby said.

For details, call Crosby at 321-5415. Next week: Students' perception
of safety in school.