DEPARTMENT OF MENTAL HEALTH FUNDS WAR ON CLUB DRUGS'

WADE -- A new Mississippi Department of Mental Health initiative to
combat the use of ecstasy and other "club drugs" by college and high
school students will take its anti-drug message to the Jackson
County's alternative high schools and students at Mississippi Gulf
Coast Community College and the University of Southern Mississippi,
area local officials learned Monday.

Mental Health Alcohol and Drug Abuse Division officials and
representatives from the agencies that will conduct the programs
announced the Ecstasy and Club Drug Initiative during a "kickoff"
reception at the East Central Community Center in Wade.

The initiative is a response to the reported increased popularity of
Ecstacy and other "party drugs" in South Mississippi.

It is funded by a $300,000 reimbursement grant administered through
the Department of Mental Health.

"What the agencies (conducting the programs) will do is send their
expense sheets to Mental Health, and the department will reimburse
them for their expenses," Melanie Winston, prevention coordinator with
the Department of Mental Health, said.

Taking an anti-drug program to the alternative schools and the
community college is a new approach for the agencies, which in the
past have concentrated most of their efforts primarily in the
elementary and middle school grades.

"As far as we know, this is the first time that anyone has taken an
anti-drug program to a college or university setting," said Winston.

Locally, two county agencies will conduct the programs at the
alternative school and community college level, with the Jackson
County Children's Services Coalition handling the effort at the MGCCC
Jackson County and Jefferson Davis Campuses.

Singing River Mental Health Services will conduct the programs at the
Ocean Springs, Moss Point and Pascagoula alternative schools.

Workers with the Drug-free Resources for Education and Alternatives in
Mississippi in Hattiesburg will present the program to students at
MGCCC's Perkinston Campus and the University of Southern
Mississippi.

Jim Yancey with the Jackson County Children's Services Coalition said
the program will be delivered to students as part of the school's
health programs.

"The program will be presented for about 8 to 10 weeks as a lecture,
but we will also have group discussions and a discussion by a DEA
(federal Drug Enforcement Agency) agent, who will deliver a computer
presentation on Ecstacy and other club drugs," Yancey said.

A similar program will be presented to alternative school students.
The programs, Yancey said, have proven successful at reducing drug use
among students.

He called the college program a challenge, adding that the goal is to
reach students in the 18- to 24-year-old range.

"What we're really trying to do is reach the incoming freshmen; those
who are 17, 18 and 19 years old and may not be aware of the dangers of
Ecstacy and other club drugs," Winston said. "When they get to
college, students in that age range are overwhelmed with a lot. A lot
of the drug and alcohol abuse with college students begins during the
freshman year."

The Ecstasy and Club Drug Initiative is coordinated by the Division of
Alcohol and Drug Abuse and the Mississippi Southern Coalition, an
organization of public and non-profit agencies developed to coordinate
and use drug prevention resources and programs and services in the
South Mississippi area.