HOMEMADE HIGHS LURE MIDDLE SCHOOLERS

Experts Warn Of The Dangers Of Inhalant Abuse

INDIAN RIVER COUNTY -- A concentrated effort by the county school
district to fight a national trend of middle school students using
household inhalants to get high appears to be showing results.

Between 2002 and 2005, lifetime and past year use of inhalants
increased among eighth-graders, according to the National Institute
on Drug Abuse's 2005 Monitoring the Future Survey.

The report's authors say the trend is cause for concern, especially
because these substances are abused more often by younger students
than older students.

According to the survey, 9.5 percent of eighth-graders nationally
reported using inhalants in the past year compared to 9.6 percent in
2004. In 2002, only 7.7 percent reported using inhalants.

The 2005 Florida Youth Substance Abuse Survey reported 6 percent of
middle-school students surveyed had used inhalants within the prior
30 days as compared to 3 percent of high-school students. The middle
school number represents a 15 percent decline from 2004, when use of
the inhalants reached a peak among Florida middle school students.

A county-by-county breakdown is included only every other year. In
the 2004 survey, 12.6 percent of Indian River County middle school
students and 12.7 of high school students reported using inhalants at
least once during their lifetime.

More current use, however, was much lower. A reported 5.6 percent of
Indian River County middle school students and 3 percent of high
school students had used inhalants within the prior 30 days,
according to the survey. This compared to 6.6 percent and 2.4
percent, respectively, statewide. Overall, the numbers remained
unchanged in Indian River County between 2002 and 2004.

Colette Heid, executive director of the Substance Abuse Council of
Indian River County, said the county experienced a large spike in
inhalant use among students about five or six years ago and officials
worked very hard to take preventative measures to combat the problem.

Currently, Heid said officials are not seeing that much inhalant
abuse in Indian River County schools, but that doesn't mean the
numbers won't increase in the future.

Heid said parents should be aware of the different types of household
chemicals that can be used as inhalants. They can obtain this
information by contacting the Substance Abuse Council at (772)
770-4811. Heid said inhalant use drops as students get older because
they have more access to other drugs.

She suggested parents can help combat the problems by emphasizing
moral values and encouraging their children to have positive social
interactions with others. She said parents should reward their
children for making correct decisions, but not with money.

"Saying 'Hey, I'm proud of you,' goes a long way sometimes," said Heid.