USE OF DRUGS, ALCOHOL ON INCREASE IN EIGHTH GRADE

Survey of City, County Students Shows Rise

Eighth-graders are among the ones to watch when it comes to drug and
alcohol use by students in Warren County and Bowling Green City
schools. According to data received in the PRIDE survey, which was
taken by 4,660 students in the city and county schools, the percentage
of eighth-graders who said they had used various types of drugs and
alcohol has risen in the past year. Students were asked about usage of
several different substances, and the percentages of eighth-graders
using cigarettes (21.8), beer (25.9), wine coolers (28.7), liquor
(20.7), cocaine (3.3), hallucinogens (2.2) and illicit drugs (15.1)
were all higher than they were in the 2002 survey. Those numbers
compare to the national eighth-grade averages of 25.6 using
cigarettes, 33.5 percent drinking beer, 3.8 percent using cocaine and
3.3 percent using hallucinogens, according to national PRIDE data. The
national averages for wine coolers, liquor and illicit drugs, which
include crack, heroin, steroids, LSD, PCP, opiates and others, were
not available. Nancy Bertuleit, safe and drug-free schools specialist
for Warren County Schools, said the data obtained by the PRIDE survey
is cause for concern. "We have a problem here," she said. "I want to
be wrong more than ever, but I think we're on the verge of the worst
drug era ever." At a press conference Thursday, officials from the
city and county schools presented the survey results, which they say
are a reliable source for knowing about drug use among students. Among
the more significant results: Cocaine use is more widespread among
high school seniors than ever before, with 14 percent of students
admitting to having used it - that's 5.3 percent higher than the
national average of 8.7 percent.

Nearly twice as many seniors (9 percent) are using inhalants compared
to last year, while the use of depressants has increased since last
year in every grade except 11th. Meg Crittenden, director of public
relations for Bowling Green City Schools, said the school districts
remain "cautiously optimistic" about being below the national averages
in cigarette use for grades seven, eight, 10, 11 and 12; beer in
grades seven through 12 for the second year in a row; cocaine in
grades seven and eight; marijuana in grades seven, eight, nine, 11 and
12; and hallucinogens in grades seven and eight. However, local
schools are at or above the national average when it comes to
cigarettes in grade nine; cocaine in grades nine, 10, 11 and 12;
marijuana in 10th grade and hallucinogens in grades nine through 12.
Bertuleit blames the availability of drugs for the higher numbers. "A
big problem with this community is that Warren County is infested with
meth labs," Bertuleit said. "It drives the price of cocaine down, and
it's more usable by kids." The PRIDE survey, which is taken annually,
is given to students in the city and county schools, whose data is
combined for the percentages. All the students were surveyed
anonymously in the fall of 2003. Bowling Green Police Department
Officer Bill Stephens, who is also a police dog handler, says the
reason the numbers are climbing among eighth-graders is their
increased involvement with high-schoolers. "It's probably because they
have more contact with the older kids," Stephens said. "They play ball
and deal more in the high school than they used to. There's a
prevalence of older students." Alcohol, cigarettes and marijuana -
so-called "gateway drugs" - are the most commonly used drugs among
students in local schools.

According to the survey, cigarette smoking is on the rise among
eighth-, ninth- and 12th-graders, with 21.8 percent, 30.5 percent and
40.5 percent admitting to usage, respectively. "This shows that 30 to
50 percent of our high-schoolers smoke," Bertuleit said. "We've made
progress, but it's still not enough.

Smoking is still the number one killer." When it comes to liquor, more
than half of high school seniors - 50.7 percent - admit to usage.

Even at the middle-school level, liquor is still fairly prevalent,
with 20.7 percent of eighth-graders admitting to drinking. "A child
who begins drinking before the age of 15 is four times more likely to
become addicted," Bertuleit said. For those who think the data is
embellished, Bertuleit was quick to point out that the data obtained
by the survey is just the opposite - conservative at best. "I show
this data to kids, and they say, 'It's worse than this,' " she said.
"We like to think that it's not our kids, not our neighbors, not our
problem." Stephens, who searches schools for drugs as part of his work
with the K-9 unit, said the most common drug found is marijuana. "We
don't find any hard drugs," he said. "We find very minute amounts of
marijuana, usually seeds or the ends of joints.

I think the schools do a good job of keeping it out." The survey
showed that most students experience drugs and alcohol not at school
or at home, but at friends' houses.

While the percentages of students using "harder" drugs such as
cocaine, uppers, downers, inhalants, hallucinogens, ecstasy and
OxyContin is significantly lower than those using alcohol, tobacco or
marijuana, they are still significant numbers and are on the rise,
Crittenden said. "Under such conditions, one would assume that these
drugs are unavailable to students," she said. "However, students are
finding them more available." While schools have several programs to
fight drug use among students, Bertuleit said the real way to help
curb use is through community involvement - enrolling kids in school
and extracurricular activities, setting clear rules and parameters,
and forcing expectations. "We can fight complacency by mobilizing the
community," she said. John Settle, superintendent of the city schools,
concluded the press conference by urging audience members to maintain
their awareness of the drug problems facing schools. "What this data
suggests is that schools are a reflection of the community and its
problems," Settle said. "We want to be honest about the availability
of drugs, because it continues to be something that plagues the community."