STUDENTS GIVE THE STRAIGHT DOPE ABOUT DRUG USE IN WESTON

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Feature Story.

Nikki Phillips was a beautiful star athlete, bright and personable,
who seemed to have everything going for her. Yet in a moment, she was
gone.

A popular member of the Weston High School class of 2006, Nikki, 18,
died accidentally from an apparent drug overdose in November while in
her dorm room at Florida Atlantic University. The news came as a huge
shock to Nikki's family, friends, and classmates.

A memorial service was held at the Unitarian Church for Nikki on
Saturday, Jan. 6. While the service provided some closure, there are
still many grieving Nikki's loss.

Among those trying to get a handle on things are Weston High School
students who belong to a group called ADAP (Alcohol and Drug Awareness
Program).

After Nikki's death, the group, which has about 50 members, met to
discuss their feelings. "We wondered if there was something we could
or should have done," a friend of Nikki's said.

The Forum recently spoke with several ADAP students about drug use
among Weston teens. For purposes of this story, the students will be
referred to as Adam, Beth and Carol (not their real names).

Carol is quick to point out that ADAP is not a drug or alcohol
abstinence group. "As the name implies, ADAP is an awareness program;
it helps raise awareness about the effects of alcohol and drugs on
teens," she said.

Drug of choice

Although an exact number is unquantifiable, Adam, Beth and Carol said
a lot of Weston teens regularly use drugs and drink alcohol. According
to Adam, hard drugs such as cocaine and heroin are used by only a
small percentage of the population.

More common is marijuana and alcohol use.

But all three agreed there is one drug that is even more popular with
Weston teens these days.

"Adderall is the drug of choice in Weston," Beth said.

Adderall?

Yes, Adderall - an amphetamine-based stimulant prescribed by doctors
to treat attention deficit disorder.

It comes in pill form, and, when taken responsibly by patients who
need it, Adderall helps improve attention span and decrease
impulsivity.

"It's the ideal Weston drug. It keeps you up so you can study. It
curbs your appetite. And it's legal," said Carol.

But Adderall has also been called "Ivy League crack."

Teens abuse Adderall by taking more than the recommended dosage and
mixing it with alcohol, or crushing and snorting it like cocaine. It
helps them stay awake through crunch times as they prepare for
placement tests like the SATs and school exams. They can easily obtain
Adderall through a prescription, or buy it illegally for $5 a pill.

Because it is a prescription drug, Adderall abuse often flies right
under the radar of parents.

"There are so many kids in Weston who go to psychiatrists, it's really
easy to get a prescription for Adderall," Beth said.

But while Adderall may have some benefits initially to the teens, its
abuse has nasty side effects and a profound downside. "It really
messes up my friends," Beth said. "They become like machines. They
don't talk and they stop eating."

Adderall is also the drug of choice of girls with eating disorders who
often take it in order to stop eating and lose weight. "Adderall is
Weston's crystal meth," said John McGeehan, facilitator of the ADAP
group.

Why?

So why are Weston teens taking drugs in the first place? In an
affluent town that boasts home sales that average more than a million
dollars, and a school system where a large number of seniors get early
college admission decisions, what is the appeal of drugs?

While there is no definitive answer, the students had several
insights.

"Parents have no idea what their kids are doing," Adam said. "Adults
are often so caught up into their own little worlds that teens are
unsupervised and feel neglected. Some kids don't have a good
relationship with their parents, and parents turn a blind eye to what
the kids do," he said.

When a teen is caught using drugs, Adam said, the typical reaction in
Weston is to send the kid to a drug rehabilitation program, often out
of state. "A lot more kids go to rehab in this town than anyone
knows," he said.

Another reason for drug and alcohol use, according to Carol, is
boredom. "There's not much to do in Weston, and alcohol is a social
lubricant," she said.

And there's a feeling of invincibility that most teens have. Carol has
noticed that "designated drivers" are not common these days. "Most
kids just take a chance and drive drunk," she said.

Drugs also help teens deal with the stress of feeling as if they must
achieve top test scores. The college admission process puts a lot of
pressure on the students to perform.

"Almost all kids in Weston have private tutors," Beth said. "That's
why we do so well on the tests. It's not what we are taught in
schools, it's how the tutors teach us to take tests like the SATs."

"The downside to tutoring," said Adam, "is that you forget what they
taught you, you don't retain it."

All three said they had horror stories about how the pressure to
perform and get top grades badly affected someone they knew. "This is
why some kids take Adderall, this is why some girls get eating
disorders. The pressure is horrible," Beth said.

Teens also learn by example. In some Weston households, there is heavy
marijuana use by parents, Carol said. "They not only use it, the
parents grow it, too," she said.

Awareness

There is help available in Weston for teens trying to cope with drugs.
Currently, 50 students, half boys and half girls, in grades nine
through 12 participate in ADAP.

The group is facilitated by John McGeehan, a clinical social worker
and substance abuse specialist. He meets with the students monthly on
such topics as tobacco, prescription medicines, legal and illegal
narcotics, eating disorders, substance abuse, drug dependency, and how
to help others.

Each year, the group holds the Mountain Laurel Dance, a sober dance
with a Breathalyzer test administered at entry. ADAP also sponsors Red
Ribbon Week, a national alcohol prevention program, in which students
get shopping discounts at Weston stores with red ADAP cards.

Last year, ADAP and Weston High School hosted Grim Reaper Day to
promote alcohol awareness. Students took on the roles of real teen
victims of alcohol-related deaths.

Beth said ADAP has helped her become much more educated about the
pitfalls of drugs. "I have information I can pass on to someone that
may prevent them from making a bad choice," she said.

Mr. McGeehan is hoping to set up an ADAP parents group in the spring
to address parental concerns. He is also opening a private practice in
Weston in mid-February that will specialize in adolescents and
individual and family counseling.

In the schools

Lynne Pierson, superintendent of Weston schools, acknowledged there
are drug issues at Weston High School. "If we have one student abusing
substances, it is one student too many from my perspective," she said.

She is very thankful for organizations like ADAP. "I think we as
adults are responsible for our students and have a responsibility to
think more seriously about whether we are doing enough to address this
issue. It is time for us to reflect and give thought to the efforts we
have made and perhaps redouble our efforts and think of additional
strategies to keep kids safe," she said.

She credited the Weston Police Department and the town's social
services staff for assisting with teen drug issues. "It's a collective
effort. We have some good interventions and programs," Dr. Pierson
said.

Weston Detective Carl Filsinger said there have not been many drug
arrests in Weston over the last four years.

"From 2002 to present, there have been a total of 28 narcotics
complaints. Of those, 18 resulted in arrests, and of those, 11 were
for kids under the age of 18," he said.

In 2004, three juveniles were arrested at the high school for
marijuana possession.

Detective Filsinger was also aware of a recent arrest in Westport,
where two 18-year-olds and one 16-year-old, all from Weston, were
arrested for possession of marijuana and drug paraphernalia.

When it comes to teen drug use, he believes Weston has problems like
every other town and the schools are doing a good job handling drug
awareness.

"The health teachers and counselors have a great deal of knowledge,
and the high school principal, Rose Marie Cipriano, has taken a very
proactive approach by encouraging things like Grim Reaper Day,"
Detective Filsinger said.

Detective Filsinger was involved with ADAP for more than 20 years,
before recently joining the Commission on Children and Youth. His
commitment to teens and drug awareness stems back to an incident that
happened in 1981.

"A 16-year-old boy had too much to drink and died in his sleep. That
memory sticks with me," he said.