SURVEY - STUDENT DRUG USE UP SLIGHTLY

SHELBY - Students in Cleveland County have slightly increased their
drug use from 2000 to this year, according to a Student Drug Use
Survey released Wednesday morning by the Cleveland County Health Department.

Self-reported use of alcohol and inhalants among sixth-graders
increased, as did marijuana use for high school freshmen. Decreases
for students in grades six, nine and 12 were noted for use of
cigarettes, psychedelics, barbiturates, heroin and steroids between
2000 and 2006.

The largest decrease was in cigarette use, which declined from 45
percent in 2000 to 38.7 percent in 2006. For alcohol use, there was a
slight decrease from 2000 to 2003, from 38.3 percent to 36.9 percent,
and then an increase in 2006 to 41 percent.

"The survey is encouraging in certain areas, but that's still a large
percentage of children to be abusing drugs," said Pathways Area
Director Rhett Melton.

Cleveland County Health Department Director of Health Education and
Promotion Jimmy Hines Jr. said Pathways and the Cleveland County
Sheriff's Department paid to have Hazelden Johnson Institute conduct
the 2006 survey, which questioned 2,864 students in sixth, ninth and
12th grades in Cleveland County Schools.

Prevention

One problem Hines saw last year: More than 50 students had been
suspended for drug use, and many of them were getting pills from
adults in their homes.

"Prevention is the ultimate answer," Hines said. "Drugs aren't the
problem. People are the problem. We need to look at why kids need to
feel differently (and thus try drugs)."

Cleveland County Sheriff Raymond Hamrick expressed concern about
middle school students.

"I think the survey's results show we need more drug prevention
education aimed at the earlier ages so they'll get through high school
without using drugs," Hamrick said. "We have DARE in fifth grade, and
we need more of an emphasis in sixth, seventh and eighth grades -
something like a second level of DARE in middle school. We just need
to search for funding and manpower for it."