TEENS EMBRACE ANTI-DRUG FOCUS AT AREA SUMMIT

Drug abuse is more than a subject they hear about from teachers or in
the news, two local high school students say.

Ask them about problems with drug use and they can talk about real
people and experiences.

A staff member at the Boys & Girls Club of Alachua County, Heather
Thompson, 17, says she has met boys at the club who have experienced
drug problems.

"A lot of people are into drugs at school, too," she said. "After
lunch, the bathrooms, you can just smell like marijuana and everything
(the other drugs they are using) in the bathrooms when you walk by."

Thompson and another club staff member, Bernard Washington, also 17,
were among more than 200 people - about half area students - who
attended the 3rd Annual Regional Drug Summit on Thursday. Sponsored by
the Corner Drug Store and other county agencies and businesses, the
daylong event was held at the University of Florida Reitz Union.

Participants at the seminar, where the theme was "A Call To Action,"
attended classes and workshops on topics such as the abuse of
prescription medication and were asked to offer recommendations for
dealing with area drug problems.

State Attorney Bill Cervone spoke at the event, telling the audience,
"I see a society that, because of drug abuse and alcohol abuse, is
disrupted in so many ways, not just those that we see, but also those
that are unspoken, the emotional toll, the loss that our society must
pay for over and over again."

State statistics show alcohol is the most commonly used drug among
Florida's students, according to the 2002 Florida Youth Substance
Abuse Survey. After alcohol, students reported cigarettes and
marijuana are the most commonly used.

Keynote speaker Omar Aleman, a retired special agent with the Drug
Enforcement Administration, joked with the group about differences
between adults and teenagers. Then he turned serious, saying, "The
problem with your children is that they think because they are 18 and
19 that they are going to live forever. You want to see something
about life and death, go see an autopsy of a 15-year-old child who
died as a result of drugs and then you are going to realize that
15-year-olds die too."

Thompson and Washington said they hope to take what they learn about
drug abuse prevention to others, such as the children they work with
at the Boys & Girls Club.

After hearing Aleman's speech, Washington said people have to take the
time to prevent drug abuse. "You have to act out. Don't just sit on it
and wait. Deal with the problem. Do it while you can."