PARENTS, POLICE TALK DRUGS AND DRINKING

CARRBORO -- Years ago, Chapel Hill police officers arrested hundreds
of teenagers in one month for drug and alcohol violations.

To catch them, officers sometimes would even hide behind bushes and
wait to see under-age teens with alcohol.

"We did everything we could from the enforcement perspective to clamp
down," Chapel Hill Police Chief Gregg Jarvies told an audience of more
than 100 at the Century Center.

But the tactics weren't popular with the community, Jarvies pointed
out. "We knew within a few days we would never do that again," he said
Monday night. "How do you get people to want to crack down? I don't
know."

The audience, mostly parents, gathered for more than two hours of
discussion on how to keep their children from drinking and abusing
drugs. The meeting, organized by The Committee for Alcohol and Drug
Free Teenagers, was the second of three scheduled forums on the topic.
The third meeting is set for Oct. 26 at the Chapel Hill Town Hall.

The committee was formed in May 2004 to promote and organize the
forums and address what organizers called an epidemic of teenage drug
and alcohol abuse in the community.

More than anything, parents who questioned the panel of school
officials and police officers said they were interested in what school
rules and police practices can be changed so students have less of a
chance to abuse drugs.

One woman inquired if schools could put students in a special program
instead of placing them on suspension, which often leaves a student at
home all day without parental guidance. Another parent asked if local
nightclubs could change their policies so young kids couldn't gain
admittance.

"Shut them down," parent Laurie Wolfe said of those clubs, including
the Cat's Cradle music venue. "Kids are hanging out outside of those
places -- I'm sure the band has drugs, and that's where they're
getting it."

Jarvies said that the club policies aren't illegal, but the department
does search for underage drinking in bars. "We're aware of the
problem, but it is a difficult one to rectify," he said.

Carrboro Police Chief Carolyn Hutchison said her force doesn't often
bust big parties, and if it does, teenagers usually flee the scene
quickly.

When a child is caught, parents don't often believe it, she said. "The
first response is, 'Not my kid.' Then we actually have them come to
the police department and they can see their kid. And they have an
epiphany."

Members of the panel agreed that until these forums, they haven't felt
much support from parents on the issue.

"It's hard, given the fact that not everyone is ready to make the
commitment to get better," said David Thaden, the principal of East
Chapel Hill High School.

While the audience was mostly parents, a few students did show up in
support of the cause. Jackie Colvin, 17, a senior at East Chapel Hill
High School, said the students addicted to drugs are getting younger.

"What we want is to encourage research into why these changing are
happening," she said. "Peer pressure only does so much."

Chrissy Par adis, 16, also from East, said many students risk drinking
and driving, and there should be other options for those who do drink
to get home.

"I don't know if that sounds like condoning it," she said. "I guess
just protect the kids that are doing it."

According to a survey by the Center for Disease Control, about 27
percent of high school students in the Chapel Hill-Carrboro City
Schools said they had ridden in a car where the driver had been
drinking. Also, about half of the high school students surveyed said
they had consumed alcohol in the last 30 days, and half said they had
used marijuana during that period