TEEN SUBSTANCE USE STILL ABOVE AVERAGE IN VASHON

Vashon youth continue to smoke marijuana and drink alcohol at higher
rates than their peers in the rest of the state, but in some grades,
the level of use is declining, according to the results of an
extensive survey.

The 2010 Healthy Youth Survey, administered to sixth-, eighth-, 10th-
and 12th-graders last fall and released last week, shows a mixed
picture, according to those involved in a far-reaching effort to get
Vashon youth to abstain from drugs and alcohol.

On the one hand, 10th-graders at Vashon High School, when asked if
they'd used either alcohol or marijuana in the last 30 days, reported
a lower level of use than 10th graders did two years ago and are
nearly level with state numbers: 27 percent, for instance, said they'd
consumed alcohol in the last 30 days, which is the same as the
statewide number and a 14 percent drop over the number of Vashon
10th-graders who reported such use two years ago.

On the other hand, eighth-graders at McMurray Middle School reported
slightly higher use rates than those two years earlier. And
12th-graders at VHS are still far above state averages: 58 percent
reported consuming alcohol in the last 30 days, compared to 40 percent
statewide; and 39.5 percent said they'd used marijuana, compared to 27
percent statewide.

"I see some good trends, and I see some trends that concern me," said
Luke McQuillin, project coordinator for the Healthy Community
Network's Drug Free Communities Coalition. "We were really surprised.
Some of it's good. Some bad. Why is that?"

Particularly puzzling, McQuillin said, is that Vashon youth score high
on what's called pro-social activities -- meaning they're engaged in
sports and other after-school activities and are graduating at high
rates. Usually, he said, communities see a correlation between high
substance-use and low pro-social activities; in other words, teens who
use substances drop out from high school at higher rates and are
disengaged and on the margins of a community.The Healthy Community
Network is holding its semi-annual dinner on Wednesday, June 8.
McQuillin said he plans to explore this issue with those who attend.

"We're going to ask the question: Does this make any sense to you? We
can sit here in our own bubble and come up with our own ideas, but the
community may think differently and have some other ideas," he said.

The statistics come at a time of heightened focus on Vashon's youth
and the degree to which they use alcohol, marijuana or other drugs.
The Island has long had a reputation as a place where teen use was
considered high and where community mores seemed to tolerate such use.

Two years ago, Vashon's Healthy Community Network -- newly reactivated
after years of dormancy -- won a highly competitive federal grant that
enabled the coalition to undertake a number of strategies in an effort
to reverse the Island's high rate of teen alcohol and drug use.

The multi-year grant, which could total more than $1 million if Vashon
receives subsequent funding over the next several years, is geared
toward what some consider both a daunting and promising set of efforts
- -- attempting to address not individual problems but the attitudes,
norms and environment that have made Vashon a community with a
demonstrated youth substance abuse problem.

Since then, the coalition has hired McQuillin to coordinate the effort
and has undertaken a number of strategies. It has held three drug
take-back events, where Islanders were able to dispose of their unused
prescription drugs safely; has begun a campaign to identify those
public places -- parks and wooded areas, for instance -- where drug and
alcohol use is occurring and alter the environment to make it less
friendly to such use; and has brought speakers and held events that
highlight research that shows the impact marijuana and alcohol use can
have on a brain that's still developing.

The fact that some of the numbers have improved in the 2010 survey
compared to the one in conducted in 2008 suggests that some of the
messages may be taking hold, activists said.

"We've seen some good movement in some areas, and we still have a lot
of work to do," said Claudia Gross Shader, who chairs the Healthy
Community Network. "We didn't do any major backsliding, which is good."

At the same time, those engaged in these efforts say, the results
suggest the Island needs to continue to work hard to address Vashon's
high numbers. The fact that Vashon's eighth-graders, for instance,
were slightly above the state in marijuana use "is a reminder to us to
redouble our efforts in terms of prevention and intervention," said
Greg Allison, principal of McMurray Middle School.

Ed Swan, one of two consultants who analyzed the results for Vashon's
Healthy Community Network, said he, too, sees the numbers as an
indication that there's much work still to be done.

The survey is extensive and exhaustive, asking similar questions from
various angles. As a result, he said, he feels it provides a
meaningful snapshot of Island youth.

"When you put (the data) all together, they add up to a picture. It
isn't a sharply defined (picture), but it does indicate that there's
higher use on Vashon," he said.

As a father of two boys, he added, "I'm concerned."