DRUGS A PART OF LOCAL TEEN CULTURE

Free Time, Parties Can Open Door To Using

National studies show teen drug and alcohol abuse has leveled off or
decreased; however, local students say most parents and teachers would
be surprised to learn how many kids abuse substances -- and why.

About half of all students have tried an illicit drug by the time they
have reached 12th grade, according to a 2006 survey conducted by the
National Institute on Drug Abuse, a federally funded program conducted
by the University of Michigan's Institute for Social Research.

Twenty-one percent of students questioned said they had used drugs
within the past month. About 73 percent of students indicated they
have tried alcohol and 43 percent said they drank within the past month.

Local students say experimenting with drugs and alcohol is a popular
way to simply keep from being bored.

"I don't think people do it because they're angry or depressed," said
Marietta High School junior Aaron Williams, 16. "I just think if there
was more to do around here there would be a lot less drinking and drugs."

Williams said most drug and alcohol use by his peers takes place away
from school grounds.

"A lot of it is parties on weekends and after football games,"
Williams said. "And not as much, but I think some people might get
together through the week at someone's house."

Marietta High School sophomore Marcie Dyar, 15, said she knows several
people -- even some close friends -- who have experimented with drugs or
alcohol. She said she's managed to resist the temptation so far.

"It's not everyone, but more like a handful in each class," Dyar said.
"I'm just surprised by the number of freshmen getting involved."

Williams and Dyar said marijuana and booze are by far the most
commonly abused substances by area high school students; however, both
said they've noticed an increase in prescription medication abuse.

Nearly 10 percent of all high school seniors abused prescription
painkillers last year, according the National Institute on Drug Abuse.
Prescription drug abuse among eighth-graders nearly doubled since
2002, from 1.3 percent to 2.6 percent last year.

Washington County sheriff's Detective Deron Alkire said the
availability and potency of prescription drugs makes them attractive
to students.

"The other reasons kids are starting to prefer pills is that a parent
can't smell it on their breath like alcohol," he said. "And imagine
how hard it is to hide a six-pack of beer as opposed to six pills."

And most parents are aren't likely to immediately notice a few pills
missing from the medicine cabinet, Alkire said.

According to the drug study, drug abuse among teens peaked in the
mid-1990s and has since declined by 23 percent.

Marietta High School Principal Mike Elliott said drug prevention
programs and increased awareness have helped to reduce drug abuse
among teens.

Elliott said in addition to educating students of the potential
dangers, faculty members look for out-of-character behavior. Based on
the few instances of drugs being found on campus, he agreed with the
students' assessment that most abuse takes place away from school.

"My biggest concern is unstructured time ... when students are out of
class and off school grounds," Elliott said. "Still, I'm not naive to
the possibility that it could happen at school. But based on the
evidence, it doesn't happen often."

Elliott said in the past five years only a handful of students have
been suspected of being under the influence of drugs or alcohol at the
high school. As an added security measure, he said police dogs are
invited into the school several times per year to check for drugs.

Alkire said the drug-searching dogs are used at all area high schools.
He agreed that it appears most students don't take drugs to school.

"Kids seem to be most at risk in their free time and when they attend
gatherings with other kids," Alkire said.

Key findings in 2006:

Decreases or stability in abuse patterns were noted for most drugs
from 2005 to 2006.

Abuse of painkillers OxyContin and Vicodin within the past year
continued at levels that raise concern. Past-year abuse of Vicodin was
3 percent among eighth graders, 7 percent among 10th graders and 9.7
percent among 12th graders.

Lifetime abuse of alcohol decreased for 12th graders from 75.1 percent
to 72.7 percent.

Just under half of all high school seniors (47.8 percent) have tried
marijuana. Six percent use it daily and 21.5 percent indicated they
had used it in the past month.

Among high school seniors, 48.2 percent indicated they had at least
tried an illicit drug at some point, while 21.5 percent indicated they
had used an illicit drug in the past month.