ALCOHOL, DRUG USE AMONG YOUTH DROPS

Marijuana, Cigarette Usage in Marion Above State Average

OCALA - The use of alcohol, cigarettes and most illegal drugs has
dropped among the county's youth during the last two years, according
to a recently released survey of public middle and high school students.

Still, the state Office of Drug Control's 2006 Florida Youth
Substance Abuse Survey showed the county's youth reported marijuana
and cigarette usage above the state average.

Cara Granada, 16, a Belleview High sophomore, said some students have
a casual attitude about smoking cigarettes.

"They don't consider it a drug that is so bad or as addictive," she
said. "They set it apart from the others."

Marion County alcohol use was below the statewide numbers, but it was
still the most prevalent drug used. About 29 percent of the students
surveyed said they drank once in the last month.

"I think kids use alcohol more than anything else actually," said
Vanguard High freshman Risa Itani, 14.

The survey is randomly administered to about 25 percent of the
students in grades 6-12 every other year, said Dan Geer, director of
the Marion County School District's Safe and Drug Free Schools Program.

From 2004 to 2006, reported use of alcohol once in a lifetime among
Marion students went from 61 percent to 54.6 percent, and use once in
the last 30 days dropped from 32.7 percent to 29.1 percent.

Fewer students have tried marijuana in their lifetime, but its
current usage - once in the last 30 days - went up slightly from 10.9
to 11.9 percent.

While cigarette smoking was above the state average, the percentage
of Marion students who have tried smoking at least once dropped from
about 39 to 34 percent.

Current usage also was down to 13.3 percent, compared to 15 percent
in 2004 and 16.2 percent in 2002.

Geer said students filled out the anonymous multiple-choice survey in
the spring of 2006. He said "Christmas tree" responses, in which a
student appears to bubble in a design on their answer sheet, were
weeded out, along with conflicting responses.

"I think it's pretty accurate," Geer said.

Matt Matthews, the executive director of the Ocala/Marion County
Community Council Against Substance Abuse, known as CCASA, said he
believes the decline in usage numbers shows alcohol and drug
prevention programs in schools are working.

"It was encouraging that since we started the underage drinking task
force, drinking has gone down based on the survey," Matthews said.
"But there is still work to be done."