DOWNTURN IN STUDENT DRUG USE LEVELING

Painkillers A Concern, Study Says

A decade-long decline in alcohol and drug use by California students
seems to be leveling off, and a significant number of students are
starting to experiment with prescription painkillers, according
to a state survey released Wednesday.

The results of the 2005-06 California Student Survey, a
state-mandated poll conducted every two years, showed that alcohol
and drug use among ninth- and 11th-graders generally decreased about
1 percent to 2 percent from the last survey, in 2003-04. That
compares to a 20 percent drop between 1996 and 2004 among ninth-
graders who reported consuming beer in the last six months.

Additionally, the amount of 11th-graders reporting to have used
marijuana in the previous six months declined by less than 1 percent
- - from 30.5 percent to 29.8 percent - in the last two years, after
having dropped by about 12 percent over the previous eight years.

These fairly constant levels seem to confirm that state intervention
programs and anti-drug campaigns like the annual Red Ribbon Week are
working, officials said.

"Within the last few years, we have more and more school districts
using materials and drug-prevention lessons that have proven to make
a difference," said Meredith Rolfe, a program administrator with the
state Department of Education.

While she predicts survey results may continue to plateau in the
coming years, Rolfe said the state aims to address drug and alcohol
issues early on.

About 2,000 California schools have adopted scientifically based
curricula to help instill higher self-esteem and decision-making
steps at the elementary school level, Rolfe said.

There have also been more targeted efforts, such as collaborations
between schools and treatment providers, to combat the substance use
issue at local high schools, added Steve Baima, program manager at
SPIRITT Family Services.

Baima's group, headquartered in Santa Fe Springs, works with
individuals in areas of prevention, intervention and recovery from
alcohol and substance abuse. He said many schools have implemented
aggressive strategies to handle violators of schools' drug-free policies.

"There's zero tolerance in schools for drug and alcohol use. Also,
education has gone up in schools, and that's a positive. If you're
not aware, you haven't been paying attention," Baima said.

In several Whittier districts, anti-alcohol and anti-drug efforts
come via intervention programs, on-site counselors and
collaborations with agencies.

Arnold Tovar, director of special and alternative education in the
El Rancho Unified School District, said Pico Rivera sheriff's
officials and other law enforcement authorities routinely come
through his schools with drug-sniffing dogs.

Another problem area highlighted by the study: illegal use of
prescription painkillers like OxyContin, Vicodin and Percodan.
Fourteen percent of 11th-graders and 9 percent of ninth-graders
reported using one of those drugs in the past six months - twice the
reported use of any other drug besides marijuana and alcohol.

It was the first time that the survey questioned students on illicit
use of prescription drugs.

"They're fairly easy to get access to, much like beer and
marijuana," said Robin Schwanke, a spokeswoman for Attorney General
Bill Lockyer's office.

In fact, prescription painkillers came ranked third - with alcohol
first and marijuana second - among popular substances used by those
surveyed, Schwanke said.

Prescription drug use among teens is not new to El Rancho Unified's
Dora Delgado, who works with drug and alcohol intervention for the district.

While she reported that 5 percent of the district's high school
population has some history with alcohol or controlled substance
use, problems with prescription drugs use are not prevalent locally,
Delgado said.

"In a group of 100, it's maybe 1," she said.

"There's a few cases where students have taken painkillers from
family members. In one case it was anti-depressants," added Delgado.
"But we don't see it as much as alcohol or marijuana.

"Alcohol is much easier to get a hold of, and it's not as easily detected."

The latest survey also showed that beer consumption among
seventh-graders increased by nearly 2 percent, from 16.7 percent to
18.5 percent, over the last two years, while marijuana use increased
from 6.1 percent to 7.3 percent.

"The findings show that there's still a challenge ahead of us,"
added Schwanke. "On the one hand, we've reported the lowest alcohol
and drug use in several years, but the downward trend has kind of
stalled a little. So this isn't a job well done - there's
still more work to do."

The 2005-06 CSS survey collected data from 10,638 randomly selected
students in 113 middle and high schools. Schwanke said the results
were generalized, without breaking down the results to districts or
counties, to ensure the anonymity of participants