BROOKLINE HIGH: DRUG HELP, EDUCATION ALREADY AVAILABLE

BROOKLINE - Following the arrest of a15-year-old Brookline High
School student on charges of carrying prescription drugs and
marijuana, school officials said they are working to address ongoing
issues of substance abuse among teenagers, and have several programs
in place to educate students.

"I don't think it's a big problem in Brookline, but it does happen,"
student health coordinator Kate Donnelly said. "It does happen on
this scale very infrequently."

On Jan. 14, a 15-year-old girl was arrested and charged with
possession of a class B substance and possession of a class D
substance with intent to distribute, after school personnel learned
she allegedly was carrying three bags of pot and 33 pills, including
the stimulants Adderall and Ritalin and the painkillers Oxycodone
and Neurontin.

Some students may use the stimulants Adderall or Ritalin to focus
their attention during tests, even if they don't have attention
deficit hyperactivity disorder, the condition for which they are
commonly prescribed, Donnelly said.

Students have also experimented with over-the-counter substances,
including huffing glue and getting high off cough syrup, Donnelly
said.

Brookline High School has a number of peer groups designed to address
issues that factor into underage substance abuse, BHS Headmaster Bob
Weintraub said.

"We encourage kids to encourage heir peers not to do drugs," he
said.

B-CASA, the Brookline Coalition Against Substance Abuse, is one peer
group kids can turn to. A school-sponsored student organization,
B-CASA's mission, according to a 2008 memo, is to bring people
together from different parts of the community to prevent youth drug
abuse. Their approach is multifaceted, drawing on clergy, the BHS
Athletics and Health Education departments, and other peer leaders.

B-CASA Chairwoman Mary Minott said lately, they've tried to address
the issue through youth-created advertisements "that would feel
meaningful to them."

Those ads are part of a larger effort Minott is working on with
Emerson College graduate student Megan Palame. Right now, they're
focusing on marijuana, and are in the early stage of the program.

"We're really just kind of getting ideas right now," Palame
said.

Several school officials reached for comment at Brookline High School
said at least part of the problem highlighted by the student's arrest
could be addressed at home. The girl's mother is quoted in a
Brookline Police report as saying two of the sets of pills the girl
was allegedly carrying at time of arrest were hers, which led to the
girl being charged with theft of a prescription drug.

"It's clear that parents should be very careful with their
prescription drugs, just as I would be very careful about alcohol in
the house," Weintraub said. "This is all about safety."

The 15-year-old girl will be taking advantage of Brookline's support
system, Weintraub said. "We have an opportunity to help this kid," he
said. "There are disciplinary consequences, but then there's help."

"I hope it can be life-changing for this student," Donnelly
said

BHS senior Eva O'Brien said the drug scene was not the only scene at
the high school.

"It's really about the crowd you hang out in," O'Brien said. "The
high school's big enough that you can find your niche."