A DECEPTIVE DECLINE?

Police say slide in juvenile arrests may reflect caution by users

The teen drug world is one that changes rapidly, one where police and
medical personnel -- not to mention parents --must work hard to keep up
with what youths know about drugs.

As the new school year begins, what drug trends can parents and schools
expect?

According to Pittsburgh narcotics officer Cmdr. William Joyce, the
popularity of several substances is on the decline. The use of nitrous
oxide ("whip-its") and inhalants has dropped over the past few years,
he said, as has the use of cocaine.

But use of marijuana, ecstasy and LSD are going strong, he said.

City police made 125 juvenile drug arrests in 1998, and the number
dropped to 95 in 1999. Through July 1 of this year, 40 arrests had
been made.

But the sliding arrest numbers don't necessarily indicate less drug
usage, Joyce said. "I'd like to believe there's been a drop in juvenile
drug use. But I think they're just using more caution. My generation
openly flaunted drugs in front of law enforcement. Today, they do it
more behind closed doors."

In addition, police don't target teen-agers, who are more likely to be
users than sellers. "We try to target street-level dealers," who tend
to be older, Joyce said.

The late teen years are when the most drug use occurs, according to the
National Institute on Drug Abuse. About 50 percent of 12th-graders
nationwide reported drug use in the past year, compared with about 40
percent of 10th-graders and about 20 percent of eighth-graders,
according to a 1999 study.

Drug abuse among high school seniors peaked at 54 percent in 1979,
dropped to 27 percent in 1992 and rose steadily until 1997, when usage
rates leveled at 50 percent, NIDA data showed.

The drug problem isn't waning, because "people are doing it to fit in.
There's peer pressure," said Andrea Lane, 18, of Upper St. Clair, who
was among teens interviewed recently at South Hills Village mall.

At parties, that can mean more than marijuana. Newer "club drugs" such
as roofies (Rohypnol, also known as the "date rape drug"), Special K
(ketamine) and ecstasy (MDMA) have crept into the teen drug scene.

Rohypnol and GHB, a similar substance, are powerful sedatives. Ketamine
is a dissociative, which means it separates the mind and body, leading
to hallucinations and altered reality. Ecstasy is a hallucinogen and
stimulant.

Studies have tied ecstasy to memory loss and rises in body temperature
that have turned fatal.

Another hallucinogen, LSD, is still around, but doesn't have the same
popularity as the newer designer drugs, said John Massella, program
director for three Gateway Rehabilitation Centers in the Pittsburgh
area. About 9 percent of seniors in the 1999 NIDA survey said they had
tried LSD.

Amphetamines, central nervous system stimulants, were used by about 10
percent of the survey participants, but are not popular here.

"It's a matter of access," said Dr. Scott Golden, medical director of
detoxification and rehabilitation at St. Francis Medical Center.
They're common in the Midwest but haven't spread here.

Abuse of painkillers such as Percocet is widespread, said Maurice
Clifton, adolescent medicine physician at Children's Hospital. "Pain
pills are abused by everyone. They relieve psychic or medical pain," he
said.

Less commonly, Ritalin is taken illicitly. When used by people who
don't have the hyperactivity for which the drug is prescribed, Ritalin
often works as a stimulant.

Among the younger set, drug abuse is more likely to take the form of
inhalants.

Massella said he still saw inhalant cases at Gateway, because inhalants
are "available and accessible."

While cocaine's popularity may be dropping, it's still there, Golden
said. In the NIDA study, 10 percent of high school seniors reported
having tried the drug.

A heroin revival is the main reason for the drop in cocaine use in
Pittsburgh, said narcotics Sgt. John Fisher. "Heroin's made a big
comeback. It has us worried. It's cheaper and more powerful than it's
ever been," he said.

Golden said most heroin users were adults 18 to 26. "It's an epidemic --
it's that intense," he said.

His clinic, which is a place of last resort for users trying to get
clean, sees 500 to 750 admissions of young heroin addicts a year. The
kind of user has changed in the past 10 to 15 years, from "hard-core
addicts to white kids from the suburbs," he said.

And for each patient he sees, he estimated, there are another four or
five users out there.

Counselor Domenic Verdini, whose practice is in Shadyside, agreed that
there was more to getting high than the thrill.

A 16-year-old patient with low self-esteem told him that drugs made him
more confident around girls.

"It's classically a way to escape, change who you are and cover up
insecurities," Verdini said.