'GATEWAY DRUGS' LEAD TO A TREACHEROUS PATH

Police, Educators Stress Dangers

GULFPORT - While problems with drugs such as cocaine and methadone are
growing among young people, police and educators say the problem usually
begins with lesser drugs, such as alcohol, cigarettes and marijuana.

Law enforcement officials call these "gateway drugs" because teenagers who
use them often go on to use drugs that are more expensive and that have
more serious consequences.

Cigarettes, alcohol and marijuana are more accessible and affordable to
young people, but when those effects wear off, teenagers turn to stronger
drugs to give them the same feeling.

"It opens the gate and starts a lifestyle and a mental process," Harrison
County Sheriff George Payne said.

Lt. Alfred Sexton with the Gulfport Police Department agreed.

"A gateway drug is just that," he said. "It opens the door to using other
drugs. You've broken a barrier, so it's easier to move on to something else."

Some worry that teachers, parents and law enforcement officials focus too
much on effects of other drugs, so teens believe these gateway drugs can't
hurt them. The key is to let students know that cigarettes, alcohol and
marijuana can be just as harmful as cocaine and crystal meth.

"The thing that worries me is that there's a belief in society that there's
nothing wrong with alcohol or marijuana," said Carrolyn Hamilton,
superintendent of the Long Beach School District. "I've never talked to
anyone who stopped with alcohol or marijuana. They always go on to
something else.

"How many children do we have to lose before we get a handle on this problem?"

The solution, experts say, is to educate students and parents about the
dangers of these gateway drugs.

Payne believes parents need to help teachers and law enforcement in
educating children about the dangers of drug use.

"The answer is parental involvement," he said. "When you have parents
involved, you have less drug involvement and less problems overall."

When teenagers drink or smoke, they may get sick, but the short-term side
effects aren't always dangerous. Teenagers often believe all drugs are that
way.

But the effects of drugs such as crystal meth, ecstasy and LSD can be much
more serious with first-time use, and people can become easily addicted.

"With some of these things, people use them for the first time and they
die," said Capt. Bonny Pesch of the Biloxi Police Department. "Sometimes
it's hard to get across to them that it can happen to them. They think
they're immortal."

Some young people will experiment with cigarettes and alcohol, Pesch said,
and not move on to other drugs, but many do. The key is education.

"You have some that use and then move back to the right side of the fence,"
she said. "And you have ones who will continue to use, and some go on to
harder stuff. We try to get them to understand that what they do now can
affect them for the rest of their lives."

Payne agreed.

"Most of the successful kids grow out of it and learn from their behavior,"
he said. "The rest, we're building jail beds for."