REPORT: TEENS PASS, ADULTS FAILING

Alcohol, Drug And Tobacco Use

Alcohol, tobacco and other drug use among South County youth has decreased
over the last several years, according to a report released Monday.

However, adult alcohol and drug-use rates are higher here than in other
parts of the state.

The findings indicate drug prevention programs aimed at youth are working,
but treatment for already addicted adults severely lags.

"This study offers the first comprehensive look at drug use in Santa
Barbara, and it reveals many positive trends," said Santa Barbara Mayor
Harriet Miller. "Still, much work remains to be done, particularly in the
areas of treatment and adult education."

The study, funded through a grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation,
was conducted by Drug Strategies, a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit
research institute. The group promotes treatment, education, prevention and
law enforcement programs that work to reduce substance abuse.

The "Santa Barbara Profile" study, which was distributed at a press
conference Monday afternoon at City Hall, is the third in a series of city
profiles, which includes Washington, D.C., and Detroit.

"We chose Santa Barbara partly because the rest of the country thinks it's
all palm trees and blue skies here," said Mathea Falco, president of Drug
Strategies. "We wanted to show that all kinds of people everywhere have
these problems."

According to the "Santa Barbara Profile," drinking, smoking and drug use
among young people dropped significantly between 1991 and 1998, revealing
that fewer South County youth partake in these activities than youths in
other parts of the state.

In 1997 to 1998, almost twice as many California seventh graders drank
alcohol, 47 percent, in the six months prior to being surveyed than
seventh-graders in the South County, 24 percent. The study also indicated
that alcohol and marijuana are the two most widely used drugs among South
County youth.

However, treatment of adult addicts has earned far less attention and
funding than prevention, Falco said. The study found that access to
treatment services is "extremely limited, indicating that many residents
without private health insurance or Medi-Cal benefits must wait or go
without it."

In 1997, less than one percent -- 883 residents -- received publicly-funded
treatment, with the majority of those receiving treatment for heroin
addiction. The number of county treatment slots in the South County has
dropped by 50 percent, from 1,800 to 900, in the past decade.

And while approximately 75 percent of Santa Barbara County Jail inmates have
substance abuse problems, only 3 percent receive treatment.

"As in many counties nationwide, public efforts to combat substance abuse in
South County are constrained by insufficient financial resources," Falco
said. "South County is a role model in terms of prevention strategies. With
sufficient funding, the county can become a leader in treatment services as
well."

The study was a result of a collaborative effort of many in the community.

"We will continue to emphasize a collaborative approach to combating
alcohol, tobacco and other drug use," said Penny Jenkins, director of
Fighting Back. "Civic leaders, parents, educators, law enforcement and
clergy all have a critical role to play in educating our community about the
dangers of abuse."

F. Y. I.

*More South County adults drink alcohol and use marijuana and cocaine than
adults statewide and nationally.

*Only 11 percent of minors who attempted to purchase tobacco were successful
in 1997, compared with 94 percent in 1993.

*More South County young adults drink regularly than those nationwide. In
1997, 71 percent of 18- to 25-year-olds in South County drank alcohol in the
month before being surveyed, compared to 58 percent nationwide.

*Youth arrested for heroin offenses accounted for one in five juvenile drug
arrests in 1997, compared to one in 25 juvenile drug arrests in 1990.

*Between 1997 and 1998, the Santa Barbara Sheriff's Department nearly
doubled the amount of drugs it seize