LOCAL POLICE, SCHOOLS TAKE STEPS TO TEACH STUDENTS ABOUT DANGERS OF
ALCHOHOL, CIGARETTES, MARIJUANA

BENNINGTON -- Alcohol, tobacco and marijuana abuse are perennial problems
plaguing young people in the state and the county, officials say.

According to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, marijuana is the
most widely abused drug in Vermont. Marijuana possession is a regular
charge on the Monday arraignments in Bennington's District Court.

At a forum last week, Bennington District Court Judge David Suntag said
possession of a malt beverage by a minor is among the top three charges
filed in district court.

Bennington Police Department School Resource Officer William W. Tatro said
tobacco use is the most common problem he faces when he patrols the grounds
of the Mount Anthony Union Middle and High schools.

To combat the offenses, drug education classes have gone beyond the "just
say no" mantra and brought in the big guns.

Tatro, State's Attorney William D. Wright, Public Defender Marie Wood and
numerous teachers, counselors and peer mentors have all played a part in
the school's efforts to reduce substance abuse.

For the past two years Tatro has been teaching an 11-week program called
Project Alert to seventh graders. The classes focus on the short- and
long-term effects of tobacco, alcohol and marijuana use. Tatro said he
talks about the laws and criminal punishments as well as peer pressure.

"They don't know as much as they think they know. Some are pretty educated
but many are unfamiliar with the effects. Some are totally dumbfounded,"
said Tatro.

Tatro estimated about a quarter of the students think the program isn't
worthwhile, but the rest find the classes helpful. Teens and administrators
seem to agree that teaching that deviates from the traditional lecture
style classes are more appealing.

A group of teenage boys who have been through the middle school health
classes and Project Alert program had mixed reactions to the classes. While
there were complaints that the classes were sometimes boring, they said
they realized the material was important. Visual aids and gadgets like the
"beer goggles" were liked while lectures weren't. One boy said the pictures
of a smoker's lung had stuck with him, but he didn't think it was effective.

"They just try to scare us," he said.

"Sometimes the students want something a little more flashy," said Middle
school Principal David Adams.

Adams said the students seem to be responding well to Project Alert, which
he says is only one part of a multi-faceted campaign to promote good
decision making.

Adams said the regular health class curriculum, after school programs and
seminars for parents are some of the other things the school is doing to
reduce risky behavior. For Alcohol Awareness Month last April, the school
hosted a day-long event which included presentations from Wright and Wood.

In the high school, Tatro has two programs that focus on alcohol and harder
drugs, which he categorizes as "club drugs."

The alcohol program Tatro presents at the high school is called "Fatal
Vision." It focuses on the consequences of driving under the influence.

For part of this program Tatro has students don "beer goggles," or goggles
that stimulate vision at two blood alcohol content levels. One pair
stimulates the effects of a BAC of between .08 and .10 and the other at
between .17 and .20, over three times the legal limit for driving.

Tatro said the exercise makes people think about how dangerous it would be
for someone to drive under those conditions after they see how much vision
is effected.

Tatro hopes to bring in a car programed to drive itself as a drunk driver
would to future versions of his program.

After seeing a presentation in Boston, Tatro and a MAUHS student brought
the ideas for what is now the Club Drugs program to the high school.

The program covers four drugs that have become more popular with teens:
ecstasy, ketamine, LSD and GHB.

Tatro said ecstasy is becoming more and more prevalent, and because it
comes in pill form it is easier to conceal.

According to Tatro, selling ecstasy is a lucrative business until, of
course, the dealer is caught. Pills are typically sold for between $20 and
$40 each, but can be made for only 7 cents.

Another one of the drugs covered in the program is an animal tranquilizer.
Ketamine, which goes by the street names of super acid, jet, K and Special
K, has been the sought-after treasure in many burglaries of veterinarian's
offices. Tatro said in the past three or four years, every burglary of a
vet's office involved the theft of ketamine.

Tatro said the school programs do not cost the schools extra money beyond
what they pay for his services as a school resource officer.