DRUG-USE SURVEY RESULTS RELEASED

About Half Of Participating Juniors At La Canada High School Report Trying
Alcohol At Least Once

LA CANADA FLINTRIDGE -- Almost half of last year's junior class at La
Canada High School who volunteered to participate in a substance-abuse
survey reported having tried alcohol at least once in their life, while 12%
admitted trying some form of inhalant.

Thirty percent of the 331 juniors volunteered to take the survey. Results
were presented Tuesday to the school board.

Board member Ron Dietel said that when compared with results from a
previous survey, the numbers released Tuesday were a positive sign. A
survey done in 1998-99 showed 73% of students who participated reported
trying alcohol at least once. District officials said they did not know the
number of students that participated in the 1998-99 survey.

Dietel serves as the board liaison to the Community Prevention Council, a
group that aims to help prevent drug use by teens.

"Any time you have any type of use, it's going to be a concern," he said.
"What's really key is ensuring effective communication with parents and
children."

The voluntary survey was given to seventh-, ninth- and 11th-grade students
in April. It also measured the percentage of students who tried marijuana,
inhalants or cigarettes at least once. The number of responding
seventh-grade students that had tried inhalants was 4%, and 7% in ninth
grade. Twelve percent of high school juniors reported trying inhalants.

Only 1% of seventh-graders reported trying marijuana, compared with 13% of
ninth-graders and 29% of 11th-graders. Six percent of seventh-graders
reported trying alcohol in the past 30 days, while 16% of ninth-graders and
30% of 11th-graders said they had tried alcohol in the past 30 days.

Penny Ledbetter, president of the Parent-Teacher Assn. Council, said she
thought it was great the survey was done and the results published.

"It can do nothing but help," she said. "The Community Prevention Council
has done a lot of work in keeping everything out in the open and educating
the community."

Forty-five percent of seventh-graders took the survey, while 39% of
ninth-graders volunteered. There were 373 seventh-graders and 346
ninth-graders when the survey was administered.