STUDENT DRUG USE ON THE RISE

13 Students Faced Discipline for Marijuana

NEWBURYPORT -- Newburyport High School is following a statewide trend
that's seeing drug use on the rise at secondary schools, officials
say.

Superintendent Marc Kerble said that since September, officials have
conducted 13 student expulsion hearings primarily related to the use
or possession of marijuana.

"This should be a concern of not only the School Committee, but a
concern of the community," Kerble said at a meeting last night.

Kerble did not have figures readily available on how many hearings
resulted in actual expulsion from school, but he spoke of the personal
side of the statistic.

"They're good kids," he said. "But good kids make bad
choices."

According to Kerble, the number of disciplinary hearings for drug
offenses at Newburyport High has risen by an alarming rate, from just
two expulsion hearings the entire 2010-2011 school year to 13 in the
first few months of the current school year alone.

Shawn Bleau, an alternative education teacher at Newburyport High,
said the increase is a concern.

"I think we need to continue to be proactive about it, and bringing it
up tonight is being proactive," he said. "I know it's not just a
problem in Newburyport. It's statewide."

Kerble and others attribute the increase in incidents at Newburyport
High to a statewide law enacted two years ago that decriminalized
marijuana possession in quantities of 1 ounce or less. They said
school leaders in many other communities that are seeing increased
drug possession offenses are drawing the same conclusion.

"I happened to catch over the weekend a Fox News story talking about
the rise of substance abuse among teenagers in the state of
Massachusetts," Kerble said. "I'm sure it has something to do with the
decriminalization of marijuana. Substance abuse is
everywhere."

City Councilor Brian Derrivan has proposed the city follow the lead of
other Massachusetts communities in adding another deterrent in the
form of a local fine for youths and others caught using marijuana in
public.

School Committee member Steve Cole voiced his concern that the City
Council tabled the proposal that would have levied a $300 fine on
residents caught smoking marijuana in public. The measure was backed
by Newburyport Youth Services and other local youth agencies aiming to
reduce marijuana use among teens.

City councilors ultimately decided they did not have time to act on
the proposal before the end of the term. They will revisit the
proposal in the new year.

"I was really disappointed the night of the City Council meeting
(that) it was moved to the next year, given the serious situation,"
Cole said.

Mayor Donna Holaday said she was also disappointed, but she understood
the council needed more time to deliberate and vote on the proposal.
But Cole remained critical.

"The numbers speak for themselves as to how serious the issue is, and
I think it trumps scheduling problems," he said.

"I believe we are on top of these issues," said Holaday, who implored
the community to join with the Beacon Coalition to come up with ways
to positively influence important issues like this one.

School Committee member Bruce Menin and Bleau offered to get involved.
Menin said he is hoping to meet with Kerble and others at the high
school to have "a conversation about how we are approaching this and
whether there might be some other ways to deal with this."

Beacon Coalition director Beth Tremblay Hall invited them to join her
organization in getting the word out about the proposed marijuana fine
ordinance.

"We need that kind of support and understanding in order to get the
ordinance passed," she said.

With 13 students facing expulsion this year, Kerble took an
opportunity to get a succinct message across to those uncertain about
the ramifications of possessing or using drugs on school property now
that the drug laws have been relaxed.

"When you use, you lose," he said.