SURVEY REVEALS ALCOHOL, CIGARETTES, MARIJUANA MOST POPULAR

Mississippi students in grades 6-12 are more likely to use alcohol,
tobacco and marijuana than other drugs, according to a survey. They
also are less likely to use drugs such as cocaine, uppers, downers,
inhalants, heroin, steroids, ecstasy and oxycontin.

Students throughout the state said they are more likely to use drugs
or alcohol on the weekends and at a friend's home. The PRIDE Survey on
drug and alcohol use and violence surveyed 60,115 students throughout
the state.

Findings from the company's survey recently were released. "For many
schools, the PRIDE Survey data provides compelling arguments and
information for increased funding and other support of drug prevention
programming," said Thomas J. Gleaton Jr., founder of PRIDE Surveys.
"Aligned with the U.S. Department of Education's "Principles of
Effectiveness," the PRIDE Survey will help (schools) prove (their)
success or need to enhance programming." The federal government
mandates that students take a drug survey every year, and the PRIDE
Survey is one of several available, but it is the survey most school
districts use. School districts each get a copy of their results so
that administrators can identify the problems and address them. In
Harrison County, educators, business leaders and law enforcement have
formed a Communities that Care committee, which is in the process of
reviewing all of the results in Harrison County schools. "We're trying
to pinpoint the areas of greatest need and use it to help provide
resources to solve the problem," said David Spinks, director of
federal programs for the Biloxi School District and a member of the
committee. Fred Walker chairs the Long Beach Substance Abuse Task
Force and co-chairs Communities that Care. He explained that the
committee has been divided into six work groups, each with different
responsibilities. Currently, one of the groups is collecting the
surveys from each district to assess the results. "There are all sorts
of resources out there," Walker said. "But I think most people don't
know they're there." Walker said it could take the committee nearly a
year to figure out where the problems are and how to solve them. "It's
going to be a slow process - probably about nine months - before we
know where we are," he said. In Jackson and Hancock counties, each
district is assessing its own results and addressing problems with
different programs for staff and students.

The Hancock County School District, for example, uses the state's
Reject All Tobacco program, as well as D.A.R.E. to teach students
about the dangers of drugs. Superintendent David Kopf said he also
believes student organizations help keep children away from drugs and
alcohol. "Peer pressure is one good avenue to discourage the use of
drugs," he said. "I think it's important that children police
themselves and put pressure on each other not to use drugs." This
year, districts in Jackson County are evaluating their own results,
but several years ago, the Jackson County Children's Coalition was
formed in response to the PRIDE Survey.

PRIDE Survey

The following are some of the state statistics from the PRIDE Survey
on alcohol and drug use and violence taken in 2002-2003: . 10.4
percent of sixth-graders said they used cigarettes within the past
year, compared to 31.6 percent of 12th graders. . 15.1 percent of
sixth-graders said they used beer within the past year, compared to
44.5 percent of 12th graders. . 4.7 percent of sixth-graders reported
using marijuana in the past year, and of them, 68.9 percent reported
getting "very high or bombed" when they used. . 4.8 percent of 11th
graders reported using cocaine in the past year. Of those, 64.4
percent said they got "very high or bombed" when they used.