STUDENTS TALK DRUG ABUSE

Teens Say 'Clean' Students Are Sometimes Left Out

GALESBURG - Drawing on tables led to discussions of parent
involvement, liquor licenses and ways to curb underage substance
abuse, at the annual meeting of the Knox County Substance Abuse
Prevention Coalition.

Twenty-four people, including four students from ROWVA and Galesburg
high schools, attended the meeting Monday. Members of the Galesburg
Police Department and Knox County Sheriff's office were also present.

After presentations by the Alcohol, Tobacco and Illicit Drug task
forces, those gathered were asked to get into groups at tables and
write out their ideas on the table cloths with colored markers the
coalition provided.

One of the key problems identified was a lack of prevention programs
and support in schools after students finish programs like DARE in
junior high.

"Just continue to do what you do in fifth and sixth grade. We just
want to help because it's really bad at our high school," Darci
Anderson, 16, of GHS said. "High school's when it gets really, really bad."

"Sometimes you just need reassurance," said Caisha Gayles, 17, also
of GHS. She said the peer pressure students face in high school to
abuse drugs or alcohol is greater than in younger grades. She argued
that programs like GHS' CARE need to be more inclusive in order to
deal with the problem.

Another factor all three tables said needed to be addressed was why
parents were concerned about the problem. One suggestion was that
parents were more concerned about why a student was caught with
drugs or alcohol as opposed to why they had them. Lt. Joe
Luna, police liaison to GHS, agreed.

"You're trying to explain to them that Johnny had drugs," Luna said.
"But, most of the complaints we get on the phone are why were we
searching Johnny or Johnny's locker at all."

Students such as ROWVA's Brooke Saline, 16, and Lynnae Grandin, 17,
brought up the issue of attitudes about those who do not use drugs
or alcohol. Students who do not abuse substances can be ostracized,
Saline and Grandin said.

"There are some kids who are loud about it," Saline said, referring
to students who do not approve of or use alcohol or drugs. "There's
just not enough of them." She said that while she is vocal about the
issue, she also is not invited to gatherings because she makes her
opinion known.

Anderson's table suggested another avenue for the Coalition to
pursue involving liquor licenses and punishments for those vendors
who violate laws regarding substances.

Rhonda Brady, president of the coalition, took notes on the
discussion and said the suggestions would be used in the coalition's
work and plans for 2007.

In 2006, the coalition's Alcohol Task Force worked with the city of
Galesburg to strengthen penalties for underage alcohol possession
and consumption. The Tobacco Task Force moved forward with its
Smoke-free Kids program while the Illicit Drug Task Force
prepared fliers about marijuana usage that will be delivered along
with pizzas Super Bowl weekend. The coalition also worked with local
prevention agencies to gain the participation of several Knox County
school districts in the 2006 Illinois Youth Survey, the
first comprehensive study of teen substance abuse in the county's history.