PUBLIC SCHOOLS GIRD FOR DRUG WAR

MILFORD - While Cincinnati Country Day tackles the youth drug culture,
public schools also are taking the offensive in the war against drugs.

About 100 police officers, school administrators and child-advocacy agents
learned about substance-abuse awareness and prevention at Milford High School.

The "Street Smart" program provided information on trends, terminology,
paraphernalia and physiological effects of drugs. Two officers from the
Franklin County Sheriff's Department conducted the presentation.

During the four-hour program, participants saw samples of current
"designer" street drugs such as ecstasy, LSD, GHB, ketamine and khat, as
well as drug paraphernalia that can mask drug use from adults. The officers
also discussed marijuana, cocaine, crack, heroin, methamphetamine,
prescription and over-the-counter drugs.

Alcohol is still the mostly widely abused, but in terms of street drugs,
the No. 1 abused drug in the schools is marijuana, said Sgt. Mike Powell of
the Special Investigations Unit of the Franklin County Sheriff's Department.

"It's probably the most misunderstood," he said. "We tend to think
marijuana has always been marijuana, and if you check the THC (marijuana's
main active ingredient) factor, back in the '50s, when man really started
to abuse it here, it was less than 1 percent. We now have reefer here in
the U.S. that can go up to 34-35 percent.

"And most people think, 'Hey it's really not that bad of a drug, because I
don't drop dead on it.' They don't realize it is definitely a gateway drug."

The event was sponsored by the Ohio School Resource Officer Association,
Miami Township Police and Milford High School as a service to school
districts and police agencies in Butler, Clermont, Hamilton and Warren
counties.

"The program also serves as a continuation of the effort by Milford High
School administrators and school resource officers to address the issue of
substance abuse," said Valerie Miller, Milford Schools spokeswoman. "The
message to our students and our community is that substance abuse is not
acceptable and will not be tolerated."

Last March, Milford High School invited law officers to search the building
and grounds for illegal substances. Officers issued citations, and nine
students were suspended.

After the suspensions, some teachers and students expressed concern over
the laid-back attitude about drugs among the students.

Powell said that attitude is not uncommon. "That's a reflection of mom and
dad. It's a reflection of how the kids are being brought up."