SCARY NUMBERS ABOUT KIDS' DRUG, ALCOHOL USE

It's easy to argue that kids will try drugs and alcohol sooner or
later, but the results of a survey confirm that in Mobile and Baldwin
counties, too many middle and high school students already have.

Parents, educators and law enforcement authorities should find the
numbers appalling. In grades six through 12, 26 percent of the
students surveyed last spring in Mobile County public schools, and 27
percent in Baldwin County public schools, reported trying marijuana or
cocaine in the past year.

Alcohol use was even higher: at 51 percent in Mobile County and 55
percent among high-school students in Baldwin County. Tobacco use was
29 percent overall in Mobile County and 37 percent among high
schoolers in Baldwin County.

Worst of all, the rates of drug and alcohol use were higher in both
counties than both the state and national averages for other school
systems participating in the PRIDE Survey.

Students fill out the survey anonymously, and some critics suggest the
methodology may affect its accuracy. An official with PRIDE says the
survey includes questions designed to screen out inconsistent answers.
But unless a large number of students are lying, the results
demonstrate that too many students are smoking, drinking and doing
drugs.

Law enforcement authorities have made commendable efforts to crack
down on underage drinking in both counties. Both nationally and
locally, schools have employed all the usual programs over the years
like Just Say No, Red Ribbon Week and Students Against Drunk Drivers.
High schools make extra efforts to discourage drink ing on prom and
graduation nights.

But if just over one in four students tries drugs anyway sometime in
middle or high school, have any of these programs been effective? If
half or more than half are drinking, does that mean they've had a sip
of beer, or are they bingeing and then driving?

Representatives of the school systems and others who work with young
people say parents have to be more involved. They must realize that
the problems are widespread and that no geographic or socioeconomic
group is immune. They must take responsibility for ensuring that their
children are well supervised and well educated about the dangers of
drugs, alcohol and tobacco.

The Alabama Department of Education noted wide discrepancies between
the number of students who are using drugs and alcohol and the number
of their parents who believe their kids have done so. Parents dare not
assume that their own children could not be involved.

Students wearing red ribbons as a sign of abstinence one week out of
the year is well and good, but it isn't enough. While parents must do
their part, school leaders need to determine what risk factors in
Mobile and Baldwin counties may cause students to exceed the state and
national averages for drug and alcohol use.

In Baldwin County, there is talk of drug-testing students. It's a
drastic step, but in light of the PRIDE survey, school leaders can't
be blamed for considering the idea.

But the final responsibility rests with parents. They can't, and they
shouldn't, count on any school system to do the job of keeping their
kids off drugs.