Teen Drug Use on the Upswing

Twenty-eight years after then-First Lady Nancy Reagan began telling
students to "Just Say No" to drugs, the Partnership for a Drug-Free
America issued a statement addressing a rise in teen alcohol, Ecstasy
and marijuana use.

The statement cited a recent study, which showed
that the number of high school students who said they've used alcohol
in the past month had risen 11 percent. The study also showed that the
number of high school students who said they had used Ecstasy and
marijuana in the past year had grown 67 percent and 19 percent,
respectively.

While that study was conducted nationwide, Scott County Director of
Public Health Jennifer Deschaine said the problem has appeared locally
as well.

"We do know from our Minnesota Student Survey that alcohol use is
rising," she said. "We are seeing a steady increase in alcohol use and
use of marijuana."

Deschaine said Scott County is one of the highest-ranked counties in
the metro area for adolescent drinking. The Minnesota Student Survey
is conducted every three years by the Minnesota Department of Health
and examines attitudes and behaviors of various student populations
about a range of issues, including substance abuse.

The Prior Lake-Savage Area School District has staff members who deal
directly with chemical health issues and also has two programs to
address and prevent substance abuse. Drug Abuse Resistance Education
(DARE) is a program implemented in the district's Prior Lake schools,
and sponsored by the Prior Lake Rotary Club.

Through DARE, Officer Scott Johnson spends 12 weeks in six Prior Lake
fifth-grade classrooms, teaching students about the dangers of
chemical abuse and how to make positive decisions regarding chemical
health.

"Predominately, our curriculum is focused on cigarettes," Johnson
said. "We do two lessons on cigarettes, and two on alcohol. We have
done lessons on household inhalants. I have done a little meth talk,
and most of the kids seem aware of what it is and how it affects
people; they've seen some pictures or seen it on a TV show or
something. Our main focus is cigarettes and alcohol. We focus a lot on
relationships and friendship making."

Students in District 719's elementary schools in Savage have access to
a similar program called Project ALERT, headed by Janine Alcorn, the
district's chemical health facilitator. She said the program focuses
on tobacco, alcohol and marijuana, known as "gateway drugs" because
the incidence of addiction is higher if someone begins abusing
chemicals before age 15.

"Once they have an accepting attitude toward these risk behaviors,
they're more likely to engage with them," she said.

Aside from actual drug use, Alcorn said, risk behaviors can include
lying to parents, being disobedient and even academic dishonesty.
Deschaine also said drug use and risk behaviors share a common bond.

"A lot of sexual behavior in adolescents is related to alcohol and
drug use," she said. "Sometimes choices are made that have negative
outcomes from that behavior, and sexually transmitted diseases are one
of them."

Deschaine cited a recent study that demonstrated a rise in Scott
County's chlamydia and teen pregnancy rates, and she said that while
she does not have evidence statistically linking the two to an
increase in substance abuse, she believes the two are related.

Alcorn, a mother of triplets who are seniors at Prior Lake High
School, said the statistics indicating rises in these behaviors
frighten her.

"I've always tried to create a safe environment," she said. "I'm
trying to get them to think it out and think down the road. Think it
through: What are the long-term consequences of your behavior?"

Amie Spinner, a chemical health counselor at Twin Oaks Middle School,
offered advice to parents about how to halt and even prevent chemical
abuse for their children.

"Set the boundaries now, because if you try to do it in high school,
it gets a lot harder," she said. "I think it's better to teach
[children] early and let them make up their minds so that they can
make a stand now."

Spinner and Alcorn offered a litany of possible reasons for why, after
decades of decline, teen drug use is picking up. These reasons
included media images, stress and peer pressure. Both agreed that
regardless of the underlying reason or reasons, prevention is the key.

Johnson, who has taught DARE for three years, also said communication
and education are important for parents looking to prevent their kids
from engaging in substance abuse. He said he doesn't monitor
adolescent drug use statistics, but he was affected by the recent figures.

"It saddens me that it's on the rise," he said. "I guess I can't go so
far as to say it shocks me. I'm not happy with it, but we gotta do
what we gotta do for our kids."