TAKING A STAND AGAINST DRUGS

The 15-year-old high-school sophomore speaks in a lifeless monotone as
he tells a room full of police officers and school officials that he
smokes pot every day, as much as he can.

His eyes are vacant. His voice lacks any emotion. He says he smokes
marijuana daily, sometimes at school, and does other drugs, such as
cocaine and Ecstasy on special occasions.

There's no reason to stop, he says. Drugs make it possible for him to
get through the day.

Police and school administrators say he represents only a small slice
of young people in Maple Valley. But they still listen because police
want to know.

Inviting young people and the rest of the community to talk openly
about drugs is the start of the city's aggressive plan to combat drug
use among teens. Information is power, and the meetings will provide
information parents may not know or want to admit.

A high-school drug problem is nothing new, but the recent influx of
hard street drugs like heroin and cocaine requires new tactics.

Maple Valley police are leading the charge with an aggressive plan
based on encouraging candid -- sometimes harsh -- dialogue about drugs
in the youth community.

"This is how a community stands up together to combat a war on drugs,"
Tahoma High School principal Terry Duty said.

In December, the police will hold a community drug summit, where they
plan to brainstorm with parents, kids, and school and city officials
about how they can come together to stop drug use.

Within the last three years, local police and schools have seen a
change in the kind of drugs young people are using. They've moved from
marijuana to abusing prescription medication, often stolen from
medicine cabinets at home. From there, they graduate to hard drugs,
such as heroin and cocaine.

Last school year, 15 Tahoma High students were suspended and two were
expelled for drug-related reasons. As of Nov. 19, the school had
already suspended 10 students this year.

No longer a quiet rural community, Maple Valley is an affluent suburb
and kids have money that allows them to buy drugs, Police Chief
Michelle Bennett said.

Some teens say they turn to drugs because the city is so boring and
there's nothing for young people to do.

Juvenile Drug Laws

School officials and police say the problem is worsened by a juvenile
criminal-justice system that's too easy on teen drug users.

One of the frustrations with teenage drug use is that it's not easily
punishable in court. In fact, most teen offenders won't see a
courtroom until they've had three run-ins with the law.

Juvenile laws are designed to give kids another chance if they make a
mistake, said Leah Taguba, a filing deputy specializing in juvenile
cases with the King County Prosecuting Attorney's Office.

For a first juvenile offense of misdemeanor drug possession, such as
any amount of marijuana less than 40 grams, the juvenile automatically
gets what the court calls a diversion. The kid is required to complete
counseling and community service and perhaps pay a fine.

Punishment for second and third offenses is at the whim of the filing
deputy, but charges aren't filed in most misdemeanor cases, Taguba
said.

The prosecutor's office sees a lot of juvenile drug cases, and these
are frustrating for everyone involved, Taguba said.

Police naturally want charges to be filed, but the prosecutor's office
won't file charges that it doesn't believe will stand up in court.

School officials said they want police to take juvenile drug cases
more seriously. Kids have figured out that it's nearly impossible to
get in big trouble with drugs, principal Duty said.

Different Viewpoints

It's difficult to get a true picture of drug use among youth in Maple
Valley. Students' opinions vary, depending on whom they hang out with.

Two students who regularly use drugs told a panel of police and city
leaders that drugs are too easy to get in Maple Valley. Weed, meth,
heroin, mushrooms, Ecstasy and prescription medication are readily
available in the community, they said.

"I honestly think that Maple Valley is overpowered with drugs," one of
the teens said. "There's honestly no hope."

Both teens claimed that students use and deal drugs at
school.

"Wherever there's not a camera or a teacher, they're doing it," one
said.

The students spoke on the condition that their names not be
published.

But a group of students who participate in school sports and other
activities painted a different picture. They know that some kids smoke
marijuana, but they say drug use is hardly rampant at Tahoma High.

"We're not the perfect school, but it's not a drug school," senior
Kaeli Rivera said.

Junior McKenzie Deutschendorf agreed.

"There's definitely not a drug culture here," Deutschendorf said. "I
don't know who I would go to to get drugs."

Tahoma has an active student body that's involved in sports, and they
would never throw it all away on drugs, the students said.

Taking Action

No one denies that a drug problem exists.

Every school in America has a drug problem, school-district spokesman
Kevin Patterson said.

The amount of drugs seized in Maple Valley and the money made off them
shows that teenage drug use is "off the charts," one undercover
officer said.

On Oct. 11, police shocked students by bringing a drug-sniffing dog to
Tahoma to search cars in the student parking lot. As text messages
spread the word through the school, the dog, a golden retriever,
smelled something in three cars.

Police got consent from the students and searched the cars while they
watched.

They found drugs in one car and materials used to smoke heroin in
another. Two teens were arrested and suspended from school.

City leaders and police have met once to talk with teenagers who use
drugs, hoping to find out what they can do to stop drug use. A
community-wide drug summit is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Dec. 19 at the
Maple Valley Community Center.

In the meantime, police have asked for money for a camera system at
the skatepark, an area known for drug use. They'll also have
undercover officers equipped with night-vision goggles, doing random
patrols in the woods behind the skatepark at Lake Wilderness, Bennett
said.

The school has a security guard and a school-resource officer who is a
King County Sheriff's deputy. If drugs are found on a student at
school, school officials call police.

Just for being caught with drugs, students can be suspended for up to
20 days. If students are caught giving out drugs or selling them, they
are expelled, Tahoma principal Duty said.