MORE TEENS ABUSE COUGH SYRUP, PRESCRIPTION DRUGS

School-age children aren't just interested in marijuana, cigarettes
and alcohol anymore.

A national study released yesterday showed the number of students who
are using marijuana is decreasing, but the number of students abusing
cough syrups and prescription drugs to get high is on the rise.

Locally, officials said New Hampshire teenagers mirror the trends
revealed in the 2006 National Institute on Drug Abuse survey. Each
year, the survey is taken by 50,000 students in grades eight through
12 at more than 400 schools nationwide.

Salem Superintendent Michael Delahanty said Salem High School
represents the average large high school in the nation and has a drug
problem that is "no better or worse" than others.

"Today, we're just as likely to find a prescription medication in the
wrong hands as we are to find an illegal drug (on students),"
Delahanty said. "It is certainly becoming a more prevalent problem for
us."

Most school officials and police officers agree that cough syrup and
prescription drugs are a more affordable way to get high.

Kingston police Chief Donald Briggs said, "(Prescription drugs) are so
cheap and they're more readily available, a lot of what we find is
that kids will take their own prescription drugs or their friends',
and sell them to other kids who abuse them."

In the past five years, marijuana use among teenagers has dropped
nearly 25 percent, according to the survey.

Derry police Capt. Vern Thomas said, "Still, more often, we'll find a
teenager with cigarettes or marijuana and recreational use drugs with
no medical purpose, than we will with (those with a medical purpose)."

But Thomas said from behavioral drugs such as Ritalin to painkillers
such as Vicodin and OxyContin, the trend of youth abusing medications
is a lot more popular than it was five years ago.

As the popularity of those drugs surges, so do the efforts in local
schools to educate students about the dangers of them.

Delahanty said health classes at middle school and high school now
include information about cough syrup and prescription drugs, instead
of just traditional recreational drugs.

"We talk about all of those and anything that's going to change or
alter the person's sense of reality is discussed," he said. "It's not
as though we focus or limit discussions on the traditional
amphetamines ... or cocaine and heroin, some of the more popular drugs
like Ritalin and even something like cough medicine is now in
(courses) as well."

Yesterday, the National Institute on Drug Abuse urged parents to clean
out their medicine cabinets routinely and throw out medications that
are no longer being used routinely.

They also announced that two organizations are teaming up to develop
the first tool kit that focuses solely on preventing the abuse of
cough medicine. The Community Anti-Drug Coalition and the Consumer
Health Care Products Association will soon release a product that will
expose the dangers of cold medications.

While police agree that parents should be warning their teenagers
about the dangers of cough syrup, they said they believe that trend
will slowly begin to fade as a new wave of cheap drugs hits the
streets of New Hampshire.

Briggs, the Kingston chief, said heroin is already a growing problem,
and he expects recreational use of methamphetamines will increase as
well.

"Actually, kids are already moving on to heroin because it's so
cheap," he said. "It's being sold for as cheap as $6 a bag."

Thomas agreed he's seeing more heroin use in Derry, but at this point
mainly adults have been using it.

"Heroin has made its way out here and we know that methamphetamine
will as well," he said. "Unfortunately, we know whatever adults are
doing, kids will follow. So we know it's going to be a bigger problem
in the future."

[sidebar]

SURVEY RESULTS

One in 10 high-schoolers admitted to the recreational use of Vicodin
in the past year.

One in 30 eighth-graders admitted to the recreational use of Vicodin
in the past year.

One in 14 high school seniors admitted to abusing cold medicine in
the past year.

One in 10 eighth-graders admitted to using inhalants, such as
cleaning products, in the past year.

The use of Ecstasy decreased by all ages by more than 50 percent in
the past five years.*

One in 7 students in grades eight through 12 admit they've used
illicit drugs in the past month.*

*Denotes an increase over last year's statistics