BAY TEAM ON 'HIGH' ALERT

Substance Abuse Task Force Leaders Concerned With Marijuana Usage
Among Barrington Teens

BARRINGTON -- Forty four.

It's just a number, but to Kathy Sullivan and Dr. Kristen Westmoreland
it's also an alarming statistic relating to marijuana use among
students at Barrington High School.

In a 2009 survey administered to local middle school and high school
students, 44 percent of seniors reported using marijuana within the
last 30 days. That figure is more than double the national average of
21 percent.

"That's definitely higher than we would like," said Dr. Westmoreland,
the program manager for The BAY Team, Barrington's drug free community
coalition. "That rang a bell. It's concerning, but it's only one data
point."

Ms. Sullivan, the prevention director for The BAY Team, said a second
round of survey results will do much to clarify whether the 44 percent
figure was an exception or the rule for Barrington High School seniors.

Still, the two women whose office is set deep in the basement of the
Town Hall realize that chances are good marijuana use among young
people in Barrington is probably at a greater level than some
educators and parents would expect. They have heard stories from the
student assistance counselor at the high school about some local
teenagers who can't fall asleep at night without getting high. There
are others who profess to smoking daily, even before school starts.

"Marijuana use is much more pervasive ... it's everywhere," Ms.
Sullivan said. "It's in movies, music. It's on television."

In addition, the BAY Team leaders said there is a decreased perception
of risk with marijuana in today's society, especially among young
people. Ms. Sullivan said recent legislation legalizing medical
marijuana and decriminalizing it (in certain states) has broadcasted a
mixed message to teenagers.

"We're concerned about the pro-marijuana influences," Dr. Westmoreland
said.

Local students' attitudes toward marijuana was made clear during a
recent mock election organized by the Rhode Island Secretary of
State's office. Amid questions about a standardized testing and
graduation requirements was a query that read: "Should the use of
marijuana, for all purposes, be decriminalized in the State of Rhode
Island to allow the state government to place a tax on the sale of
such a substance?"

About 650 students at Barrington High School answered the question; 65
percent said yes.

An uphill fight

Ms. Sullivan can remember what her job was like when she was first
hired in town about seven years ago.

She said she was one of only four people at the first Barrington
Substance Abuse Task Force meeting she attended. One of the other
people at the meeting was Barrington Police Chief John LaCross. The
two, realizing that something needed to be done to reach out to the
teenage population in town, organized an alcohol-free beach party.

"Yes, alcohol-free," Ms. Sullivan said, adding that she was later told
by young people that some of the kids at that party had been smoking
marijuana prior to the event.

The task force's initial focus was locked on underage drinking for a
number of different reasons including previous alcohol-related
tragedies in town and legal challenges.

"It's much easier to prosecute the alcohol," said Dr. Westmoreland.
Also, the technology for detecting alcohol consumption is better and
more reliable than that for detecting marijuana use, she said.

The task force, which eventually became the BAY Team, has worked hard
to emphasize the dangers of underage drinking. The message, organizers
said, is louder and more effective because more people and groups
stand strong behind it.

Not so with marijuana.

"Right now there's not enough emphasis on marijuana use," Ms. Sullivan
said.

"This is all starting in its infantile stage," Dr. Westmoreland said.
"In other towns this isn't even on the radar screen yet."

Shortly after the survey results were released, Dr. Westmoreland and
Ms. Sullivan began investigating what information was available to
enhance the curriculum dealing with marijuana use. They didn't find
much.

"There's not much curriculum out there," Dr. Westmoreland said. "We're
still looking at ways we can beef up what we have... We're hoping to
send home a brochure for the kids to do with their parents."

Ms. Sullivan said local schools and their administrators are open to
the increased attention now being paid to marijuana use.

BAY Team leaders said there's another challenge facing them in the
fight to better educate young people on the dangers of smoking
marijuana -- accessibility.

"Kids don't have a problem getting their hands on marijuana," Ms.
Sullivan said.

Officials have worked hard to legislate restrictions surrounding the
sale of alcohol to underage people, but that's not the case for
marijuana. Ms. Sullivan and Dr. Westmoreland said there's been an
opposite affect where people are trying to legalize access and
decriminalize the drug.

"It makes the job harder," Ms. Sullivan said, "the mixed
messages."

Survey results

Following are some of the results from the 2009 survey administered to
Barrington high school and middle school students:

Used marijuana in the past 30 days

Middle school students: 2%

BHS freshmen: 9%

BHS sophomores: 18%

BHS juniors: 28%

BHS seniors: 44%

12th-graders, national average: 21%

Perceive there is "great risk" of harm from regular marijuana
usage

Middle school: 85%

BHS freshmen: 64%

BHS sophomores: 47%

BHS juniors: 43%

BHS seniors: 30%

12th-graders, national average: 52%

BAY Team information

The town's drug free community coalition recently drafted a flyer
titled "Marijuana -- Points to Consider." Following are excerpts from
the flyer:

Poor academic performance: "Young people with an average grade of
'D' or below were more than four times as likely to have used
marijuana than those with an average grade of 'A."

Increased risky behavior: "Young marijuana users are more likely to
engage in risky behaviors, such as having sex, committing acts of
violence, and driving under the influence."

Addiction: "About 200,000 people who enter drug treatment each year
report marijuana as their primary drug of choice. Sixty percent of teens in
drug treatment for illicit drugs are there because of marijuana."

Respiratory problems and cancer: "Chronic marijuana use contributes
to respiratory ailments such as coughs, sore throats, bronchitis and
pneumonia. Marijuana contains cancer-causing agents, similar to
tobacco smoke."

Acute effects: "Marijuana can impair speech, thinking, judgment,
short-term memory, coordination and balance. It can cause drowsiness,
delusions, impaired vision, severe vomiting, headache and dizziness,
all hazards to anyone attempting to drive."