DRUG USE INCREASES IN YOUNGER KIDS

GARDEN CITY (AP) -- There is a trend of increased drug use among younger
children in parts of southwest Kansas, according to some criminal justice
officials.

A voluntary statewide survey administered last year by Greenbush Education
Center found that Finney County sixth-graders had smoked three times as
much marijuana in a month as the state average.

Eighth-graders smoked marijuana about 11 times in a month, compared to
state results claiming only seven.

As for alcohol consumption during a month, sixth-graders said they drank an
average of 15 times, with eighth-graders claiming 30 times.

"More younger kids are abusing drugs. There's not been hundreds, but I've
seen a few," Finney County Assistant Attorney Lois Malin said. "Now I'm
seeing 11- and 12-year-olds, when before it was 14- and 15-year-olds, so it
kind of sticks out."

The trend has presented a problem for school districts, whose drug
education programs are mostly targeted at middle school youth.

"We try and get the message of the dangers of drugs out through some very
visual activities; we try to get the physical and mental consequences
across to them," said Leon Hutton, counselor at Abe Hubert Middle School.
"But we might need to try some of these things at a lower level."

But programs, even at a lower level, may not be the answer, according to
Finney County sheriff's K-9 officer Tim Shultz. Shultz, who does drug
sweeps of schools, said that thanks to numerous programs, students already
know that they shouldn't be using drugs.

"I don't think it's an educational problem; it's a choice," he said. "It's
peer pressure, or it's just what it is. It's not going to come to an end,
especially nowadays with the new drugs like Ecstasy and heroin."

Steve Martinez, Finney County sheriff's deputy and street gang/crime
prevention officer, said that within the last two years, Ecstasy has become
a popular drug. It is similar to the stimulant amphetamine. Martinez said
Ecstasy is usually purchased in Colorado and brought back to Garden City.

Yet, according to Martinez, marijuana is still the drug of choice among the
younger users there.

"I have 8- and 9-year-olds telling me they've already tried pot," Martinez
said. "They do drugs before school, after school and during school. There's
a lot of drugs in Garden City."

Schools can only do so much in terms of drug prevention, but once a student
takes a wrong turn, there needs to be more options for rehabilitation,
Hutton said.

"There aren't as many places to turn once a student is already involved in
drugs," he said. "We try everything we know how to do to keep them away
from that point, but we can't reach everyone. Teachers can't manage every
aspect of a student's life."