DECLINE IN YOUTH DRUG USE COULD POINT TO TREND

New Data Expected In August.

The current decline in drug use among Indiana's middle school-age
youths is offering some hope that new data to be released in August
will reflect that trend.

The Indiana Prevention Resource Center at Indiana University in
Bloomington has been reporting steady declines in drug use statewide
since 1997. Last year, researchers at the center, which has conducted
the statewide survey for nine years, collected information from 281
schools in 94 Indiana communities.

While local authorities await the release of new data, their own
experiences are offering encouragement that the tide could be turning
or, at least, not getting any worse.

"We've definitely gone down," said St. John Police Chief John
Guzik.

Arrests for substance abuse among juveniles in St. John went down from
47 in 1997 to 24 last year.

Guzik's numbers are in agreement with statewide figures, which showed
a decrease in illicit drug use among middle school students in 1999.

Compared to 1996, the percentage of students in seventh, eighth and
ninth grades reporting monthly marijuana use declined, according to
the IU center.

In 1996, 22.8 percent of ninth graders surveyed reported using
marijuana in the past month while 16.2 percent did so last year, a 7
percent drop.

For eighth graders, the decline was 4 percent and for seventh graders,
it was 3 percent.

"We're seeing the decrease across all drugs," said Mindy King, a
research associate with the resource center.

In places like Giffith, for instance, police haven't felt a major
shift.

"We've not really seen any kind of a major change up or down," said
Detective Sgt. John Messinio, who processes all drug evidence headed
for the state crime lab. "Everything's been kind of status quo for the
past few years."

One of the more encouraging data experts track is tobacco use among
youth, which has declined since 1997.

Tobacco is considered a gateway drug that can lead to use of other
drugs, particularly among middle school students, King said.

As middle schoolers continue to eschew cigarettes, the hope is other,
harder drugs won't be a lure.

For those who work with prevention programs daily, though, no blanket
statement can be made about Northwest Indiana youths and drug use.

"It depends on your neighborhood," said Sandy Appleby, assistant
director of special services at Tri-City Mental Health Center in East
Chicago. She coordinates after-school programs for young people in
Whiting, Hammond, Highland, East Chicago and Munster.

Her own surveys tell her that individual experiences tell the
story.

"It depends locally on what kids are hearing and seeing on the
streets," she said about drug abuse.

As public awareness about drugs and their effects grows and the number
of after-school programs increase, the hope is a trend will take hold.

"If that age group is turning -- the 10- to 14-year-olds -- those are
the kids that will be the teen-agers soon and that gives me a lot of
hope," Appleby said.