EDITORIAL
HELEN K. COPLEY, Chairman and Publisher
KARIN E. WINNER, Editor
ROBERT A. KITTLE, Editor of the Editorial Page

Preventing drug use, Teen substance abuse has reached a crisis

Skyrocketing rates of drug use among teenage boys entering San Diego's
Juvenile Hall show just how badly our community is failing in drug and
alcohol abuse prevention efforts.

In the past five years, drug use among arrested boys has doubled, according
to a study by the San Diego Association of Governments.

Currently, 61 percent test positive for some drug when brought to Juvenile
Hall. Juvenile delinquent drug use is reaching nearly the same percentage
as that of adults in county jails. San Diego County has one of the highest
percentage of arrested adults testing positive for drugs, ranging from 70
to 80 percent.

The most popular illegal drug is marijuana. Some 87 percent of boys at
Juvenile Hall say they have tried marijuana. County officials say kids are
using drugs at much earlier ages.

Besides showing that prevention efforts are woefully inadequate, the
statistics also belie the popular notion that marijuana is somehow a
harmless drug. While some studies suggest marijuana may be addictive, its
greatest danger for kids is that it's a gateway into the drug culture. And
the drug culture is a gateway into harder crime.

The percentage of Juvenile Hall boys who have tried marijuana is nearly
three times more than that of teen boys in general. The link between teen
marijuana use, the drug culture and crime is inescapable.

Unfortunately, the public attitude toward drugs today is very permissive,
and the result is that more kids are using drugs, especially marijuana.
These permissive attitudes are responsible for increased teen drug use and
the growing youth drug culture. After all, if adults don't think drugs are
so bad, kids won't either. That's where we are today, and we're seeing the
results of those attitudes at Juvenile Hall.

The people of San Diego County need to do a much better job of preventing
teen drug abuse before it starts. There are some very good prevention
programs, but most are operated by cashstarved nonprofit organizations
that don't have enough resources to reach most children. Drug Abuse
Resistance Education (DARE) programs by police departments are about the
only wellfunded prevention programs, but some experts question their
efficacy.

The Juvenile Hall statistics show that substance abuse among teens in San
Diego County has reached a crisis. Yet, for lack of resources or will, our
elected leaders and the entire community seem disinterested in mounting an
effective prevention campaign.

How bad does this problem have to get before we act?