HOW BIG IS THE PROBLEM FACING TEENS IN HARDIN COUNTY?

The search that resulted in drug-related charges for five students at
Elizabethtown High School this month isn't indicative of more widespread
possession in local schools, research shows.

Over the last five years, more teens are finding themselves in court to
answer to charges involving drugs. But most kids facing such legal trouble
- - some of them as young as 12 - get caught outside school campuses, not in
the classroom.

The arrest and prosecution of underage drug users has risen by about 45
percent since 1998, said Jenny Pitts, acting Hardin County attorney.

While drug use among Hardin County kids is becoming more commonplace, most
use so-called "milder" drugs such as alcohol and marijuana, substances
teens say are more accessible. Few are caught with the two other most
widely abused drugs in the area, cocaine and methamphetamines.

"Most people aren't dumb enough to bring it to school, said Desmond
Thompson, a John Hardin High School senior.

In 1998, 38 juveniles were convicted in Hardin County courts for pot
possession and one for meth. In 2003, there were 55 convictions for minors
with marijuana and none for other drugs.

Those figures don't include those caught with alcohol, Pitts said.

The Vine Grove Police Department last year charged 16 juveniles with drug
and alcohol crimes. Only three had any tie to a school function.
Elizabethtown police caught charged 11 juveniles, three of whom were at a
school. Radcliff police, who have a full-time traffic enforcement officer,
charged 56 minors, nearly all of whom were busted in traffic stops.

Figures were not available last week from West Point police, the Hardin
County Sheriff's Office or the Kentucky State Police.

About half of the juveniles charged in Hardin County with drug and alcohol
offenses in 2003 were 17 years old, according to court officials. The other
half ranged in age from 12 to 16.

Pitts called the increase alarming. Most cases involving teens that wind
through the court system involve 16- and 17-year-olds, authorities said.

"It doesn't even shock me anymore to see young offenders in court," she
said. "If I was prosecuting a 14-year-old, I wouldn't even bat an eye."

Sentences for teens convicted of or pleading guilty to drug use or
possession vary greatly depending on several factors, such as age, the type
of drug, the amount in possession and whether the child is a repeat
offender. Penalties can range from counseling with no mark on their
criminal record to stays in detention centers.

Authorities said they are doing all they can to combat the problem. They
don't know where the drugs are coming from, and if they did they would go
after the sources, they said.

Police said they also don't know specifically what attracts one child to
drugs and not another.

Police with drug-sniffing dogs have swept through many area schools this
year, often turning up nothing.

Officers from nearly every police force in the region are specially trained
in anti-drug tactics and frequently visit students in school.

Kentucky State Police Trooper Steve Pavey is the spokesman for the
Elizabethtown post and conducts some 40-odd programs a month in classrooms
and for civic groups to persuade people from using and abusing.

A lecture to students at John Hardin High School last week was typical of
the type of presentation he makes. He intertwined films from noted
lecturers and statistics from years of research to paint a picture of the
ill effects drugs and alcohol can have on teens.

Pavey, the father of four children ranging from pre-teen to college age,
gives insight from his

personal and professional lives when he presents his workshops.

Some of the material is graphic and disturbing. For example, he talks of
the injuries sustained by a child killed when his father drove drunk. Much
of his talk is delivered with a truthful, but humorous approach.

"Guys, if you get out there and get messed up in the dope and go to prison,
you might end up being some big old dude's boyfriend for about 20 years,"
he told students last week. "Now that sounds like a great time, doesn't it?"

An audible and visible collective shudder among the male students was evident.

After last week's visit to John Hardin, Pavey said students at most schools
participate in the

discussions and seem genuinely interested in the material. Even so, there
are still those who use drugs, he said.

"We can't stop them all from getting tied up in that mess," he said. "But I
do think we have some impact on their lives."