A Closer Look:

SMOKING GATEWAY TO DRUG USE

Part One of a Series

According to the United States Department of Justice, in 2006 poll of
high school seniors across the nation were asked, "On how many
occasions, if any, have you used drugs or alcohol during the last 12
months?" Of those who responded, 66.5% said they used alcohol within
a 12-month period and 45.3% had used within the 30 days prior to the
poll. In the same study, 31.5% high school seniors had used marijuana
in a 12-month period, 8.1% used stimulants like methamphetamine and
4.5% used inhalants.

Several similar studies have found that although regions like urban
areas may have a higher concentration of drug and alcohol use in
teenagers, the problem is not exclusive to large cities.

"There is drug and alcohol use in La Canada," said Sgt. Harold
Chilstrom, narcotics division at Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department.

"There is a sense of denial in La Canada with any trouble with drugs
and alcohol use," said Will Moffitt, chairman of the Community
Prevention Council of La Canada. "But when you talk to individuals,
they will talk about significant use in the area."

advertisement This three part series will look at that dichotomy
between public and private perception, and the common "we live in a
bubble" analogy. The series will look at not only drug, alcohol and
tobacco use in teens but what pro-active measures are being taken by
the high school, sheriff station, city and community organizations
and what more needs to be done. The question of parental
responsibility and accountability will also be examined.

In a recent survey/sting operation that was sponsored by the La
Canada Youth Council with support from Glendale Adventists Hospital,
sheriff's station and the prevention committee, underage children
were able to purchase cigarettes in 47.1% of the La Canada
establishments that sell tobacco.

"Every kid knows where they can get cigarettes," Moffitt said.

The operation had students from the youth council and undercover
officers from Crescenta Valley Sheriff's Station enter the stores and
purchase the cigarettes.

"The kids never tried to hide the fact that they were underage, they
didn't have fake identification," Moffitt said.

Although some may not find the connection between alcohol, drug abuse
and cigarettes, it does exist, Moffitt said.

"It really is a gateway to other addictions," he said.

A 1997 study done by the Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at
Columbia University found that among youths 12 to 17 years of age,
smokers were more than 50 times as likely as nonsmokers to use
cocaine and 12 times more likely to use heroin.

Moffitt said that even if they do not use the drug as a gateway to
other illegal substances, the effects on the body of teenagers who
smoke can be devastating.

Due to this finding, the youth council and Glendale Adventists
Hospital are leading the charge to have the city of La Canada add an
ordinance that will help fight the selling of tobacco to minors.

The proposal is expected to be presented to the city council in the
next few weeks and will ask for a license fee for any establishment
that sells tobacco. The establishment's management will also be asked
to sign a contract assuring the city they will not sell tobacco to
minors, and if they do so their license will be in jeopardy and they
will face legal charges. Funds collected from the fees will be used
for monitoring by law enforcement.

Moffitt said this is a step that needs to be taken to protect
children from taking that first wrong step.

"We all know all know that tobacco is not good for our bodies. As
adults we can chose to forget and abuse our bodies but it is not fair
to allow our kids to do especially in their formative years," he said.

Next week: Law enforcement tackles local drug use.