DRUG USE ON THE RISE

Altona Police Chief Perry Batchelor says the age of local drug users
is getting lower all the time. "When I started here back in 1997, we
were only doing drug presentations at the high school level, but now
we're doing them at Parkside and West Park School as well."

Batchelor says the department takes a proactive approach to drug
awareness and prevention at the various schools by coming in and
showing students drug samples, describing the contents and their
harmful effects. "For example, we'll tell them about the poisonous
ingredients used in making meth," he says. Those include Drano, brake
fluid, ephedrine, lighter fluid and ammonia. "And people are
purposefully putting these things into their bodies. The kids are
always shocked when we tell them that."

Batchelor says availability of substances in schools is a reflection
of the community at large. "Like most things, it's cyclical and a sign
of the times and the culture we live in. A few years ago, it would
have been unheard of for junior high kids to have their own cell
phones, but now it's common and accepted. Marijuana use has also
become more accepted, but at the end of the day, it's still an illegal
substance."

He said the marijuana used today has a much higher THC content than
the product being smoked decades ago.

He told parents to take responsibility. "My advice to parents is to
keep yourself aware of your kids' habits and changes in their
personality and take an interest in who they hang out with. Schools
are there for support, but they can't always be held responsible for
things that are going on at home."