TEEN SUBSTANCE ABUSE

In a county willing to spend top dollar to arrest and prosecute drug users,
teenagers are in danger because of underfunded detox and rehabilitation
programs.

Stories by staff writer Anna Gorman in today's Ventura County Edition of
The Times look at the inadequacy of the county's response to that need, and
examine recent fatalities that might have been avoided if help were more
readily available for kids with drug and alcohol problems.

Friends said Drew Diederich, 16, of Moorpark was high on LSD last week when
he ran from police and onto railroad tracks, where he stood until a freight
train hit and killed him. Earlier that night he had attended a rehab
meeting, according to counselors.

It was a particularly tragic example of what can happen when help comes too
little, too late.

"There aren't enough of us out there and we aren't able to get to these
kids soon enough," the director of Diederich's rehab program told The Times.

Estimates of how many of Ventura County's youths use illegal drugs range
from as few as 10% to as many as half. By even the most optimistic view,
almost 10,000 county teens are drug users. And officials say about 1,000 of
them require serious treatment for full-blown addictions to drugs and alcohol.

Parents and counselors say only about one-third of the area youths who need
help with drug and alcohol problems are receiving it. The county has only
six detox beds available although at least 24 youths need intensive
residential treatment at any time. Stays at psychiatric hospitals are short
and expensive. There are few 12-step meetings geared to teens and not
enough drug counselors at schools.

Superior Court Judge Brian Back, who presides over Juvenile Court, said
drugs come up in 19 out of 20 of his cases.

"It's just overwhelming," he said. "If we didn't have substance abuse
issues with these kids, we almost wouldn't need a Juvenile Court."

Ventura County spends about $185,000 per year on services for youths, while
officials say they should be spending $1 million. And although adolescents
make up 10% of the clientele for drug and alcohol programs, they receive
only 2% of the money.

County officials recently applied for a $500,000 federal grant to expand
drug and alcohol services for teens. That's a start--if the request succeeds.

But as Ventura County leaders set their budget priorities for the coming
year they should give special attention to expanding efforts to rescue
young people from drugs and alcohol abuse before they hurt themselves or
someone else.

Part 1 of series, http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v00/n707/a05.html