SOME EDUCATORS NOTICING DRUG TREND IN SCHOOLS

Teens Report Abusing More Over-The-Counter and Prescription
Drugs.

When Mary Ann Kluga talks with Leander school district parents, she
asks whether they know what's in their medicine cabinets.

"I say, 'If you have old pills from a back injury, do you know how
many pills were in that bottle and if any are missing?' " said Kluga,
the district's substance abuse prevention coordinator.

Kluga poses the question because she said she has noticed that some
students are abusing prescription drugs and over-the-counter drugs,
namely the cough suppressants DXM (dextromethorphan) and Coricidin,
dubbed Triple C.

According to a Texas Department of State Health Services preliminary
survey of state schools, when students were asked whether they had
used any drugs in the past month, 1.7 percent said they had used DXM
and Triple C.

That figure is still far below those for tobacco, which 34.8 percent
of seventh-to 12th-graders reported using, and alcohol, which 65.4
percent of the students reported using. Marijuana was used by 26.1
percent of students in those grades, the survey found.

The Leander district is focusing more on education that covers
prescription and over-the-counter drugs; the Georgetown and Round
Rock districts are sticking with their regular programs.

Williamson County schools this week are trying to spread awareness
about drug education during Red Ribbon Week, an annual nationwide
anti-drug campaign.

Kluga said the Leander district has started talking to young children
about the differences between medicines and illegal drugs. Students
are taught that even medicine can be harmful if it is taken
incorrectly, she said.

Barbara Townsend, the physical education/health and prevention
coordinator for the Georgetown district, said any new trend is
probably a result of the drugs' availability.

"You may have a trend where meth is the drug of choice and then crack
cocaine or cocaine," she said.

Her district is using a program that teaches kids about alternatives
to risky behavior, she said.

Stacey Brownlee, chief of the juvenile division at the Williamson
County attorney's office, said most parents don't know what to look
for to determine whether their child is using prescription or
over-the-counter drugs.

"You can say 'Triple C' to a parent, and they're clueless," she said.

Chris Sharman, director of the Partnership for a Drug-Free Texas
alliance, said the hardest part for parents and educators is
directing a message about the drugs toward youths because most kids
think they are safe.

"There's a broad awareness out there that it's medicine and it's
prescribed by a doctor and it can't hurt you," he said. "The message
to get out to the kids is just because it's medicine, it can hurt you."