DRUGS A PART OF GLENDALE SOCIETY

Experts Cite A Variety Of Causes Of Drug Use, As Well As A Multitude Of
Drugs Available. Help Is Out There.

DOWNTOWN -- TV messages bombard the public -- If you don't feel well,
there's a chemical to make you feel better.

Children 18 and younger conditioned by this information turn to drugs
to stop emotional pain, said Glendale Police spokesman Sgt. Rick Young.

The police find that in the homes of student drug users, alcohol,
smoking and drugs are being used for relaxation by the parents, Young
said.

When parents and kids don't discuss their problems with each other,
children tend to numb themselves with drugs.

"Where there's no communication, there's drugs," Young
said.

At Verdugo Mental Health, a range of support services are available
for children 5 and up involved in drugs.

"We're starting to see a trend of increased drug experimentation
starting with 9-year-olds," said Merri Chalenor, family therapist at
Verdugo Mental Health.

The reasons for drug use by kids are as varied as the choice of drugs
available -- peer pressure, family problems, being bored out of their
minds or just being cool, said Linda Maxwell, co-executive director of
We Care for Youth. Drugs have become a rite of passage, she said.

What drugs are kids using? According to Maxwell, it's not your
grandmother's medicine cabinet anymore.

"Ecstasy, Marijuana, alcohol, LSD, Crystal Methamphetamine and
tobacco, which is more addictive than anything," Maxwell said.

"Marijuana, the No. 2 choice, is 200 times more potent than anything
that was being grown in the early '70s" Young said.

The Glendale Unified School District has given teachers thorough
training with several drug programs they can incorporate into the
curriculum, said Bill Card, director of student support services.

These include:

* Drug prevention programs for kindergarten through 12th-grade
students. * A smoking cessation program at all high schools taught by
teachers with specialized training.

* The DARE program -- Drug Abuse Resistance Education -- at the
fifth-grade level.

* The Action program -- A parent and teen support program to which
teachers, nurses or parents can refer children. The group is one of
many outside services subcontracted to the district

Every school customizes the program to its specific needs, and
teachers are trained to look for signs of drug use, Card said.