COUNSELOR - MARIJUANA IS MORE POTENT

EXETER - Flower children of decades past thought nothing of passing
around a little "grass," rolling up a doobie and puffing the magic
dragon.

Today, they might have kids of their own, doing the same thing, maybe
even in the same house.

Marijuana, however, is not the same as it was.

Today's pot is more dangerous, stronger and possibly more harmful than
many people realize, according to drug abuse and prevention experts
who urge parents - and the community at large - to consider marijuana
use a threat to a youngster's health and future.

"Unfortunately, there's a feeling that marijuana use is benign," said
Kerry Roether, Student Assistance Program counselor at Exeter High
School.

Roether is trained in drug and alcohol abuse and addiction issues.
"Some people may know their kids are using, but they may not be as
concerned as they should be," she said. "It's a much different drug
than it used to be and the impact on the user is greater.

Roether said the drug interferes with kids' or anyone's ability to
learn and live a successful life.

She said the high may last for a couple of hours, but studies have
shown a person's impairment may linger for 24 hours.

Smoking marijuana comes with a package of other problems.

"Marijuana use, anything other than occasional, experimental use, is
very dangerous, especially for teens," said Jennifer Kinsey,
coordinator of HealthyCommunities, a program that advocates drug- and
alcohol-abuse prevention education.

"Pot today is stronger and more concentrated, and sometimes laced with
other substances," Kinsey said. "The impact of regular use for teens
is often apathy, lethargy, lack of initiative, inability to organize,
stay on task and antisocial behavior. There is increasing evidence
that pot is addictive for some individuals."

Roether and Kinsey were interviewed recently in the aftermath of the
off-campus arrests of five Exeter High School students on drug-related
charges, including marijuana. At Exeter High - or any school for that
matter - officials say alcohol use is the number one drug problem,
with marijuana running a close second.

According to a Teen Assessment Project (TAP) survey conducted in
collaboration with the Exeter Region Cooperative School District,
Rockingham County UNH Cooperative Extension and the community, pot use
at Exeter High runs about average of that of other schools across the
state. The Exeter survey conducted in September 2001 indicated 29
percent of seniors surveyed smoked pot in the last 30 days, a number
lower than the 35 percent of 12th-graders surveyed statewide who
answered the N.H. Youth Risk Behavior Survey.

Binge drinking is a bigger problem for students, according to the
survey.

"Our local teens report binge drinking rates that are similar and at
some grade levels higher than those reported in the statewide survey,"
Kinsey said. "Binge drinking rates are of particular concern since
excessive drinking is correlated with a number of indicators of
serious behaviors: depression, sexual risk-taking, violence, sexual
assault, suicide attempts and lower academic performance."

Equally alarming is the assessment that marijuana use is correlated
with as much as a six-fold increase in reported sexual risk-taking and
more than a three-fold increase in reported risk of violence and
sexual assault.

Parents are best prevention

Teens who drink will report doing most of their drinking at parties
(40 percent), but a significant number will drink at home or at a
friend's home, 11 percent with parental permission, 33 percent in a
home without permission.

These statistics should be an eye-opener for parents and a good reason
they should call and check that the party their son or daughter is
planning on attending is supervised by an adult who will actually
check in to see what the kids are doing.

"Monitor and supervise your teens on a regular basis after school,
evenings and weekends," Kinsey said. "Depending upon the age of your
teen, this will vary from making sure they are engaged in constructive
activities after school.

Kinsey said parents should make sure teen parties are appropriately
chaperoned and substance-free.

"Talk to the parents of your teen's friends on a regular basis to
verify plans and confirm appropriate supervision," she said.

School-based resources and policies can only do so much to fight drug
and alcohol abuse.

"Parents are the most important component in preventing and
intervening with alcohol- and drug-abuse issues with teens," Kinsey
said. "I don't mean to blame the parents - it's hard."

The first thing parents can do is clearly convey to their teen that
their goal is to keep them drug- and alcohol-free until he or she is
older.

"A parent's reason for doing this is to keep their teens safe during a
time when they are learning to drive, work, be in relationships, be
out in the world and around others," Kinsey said. "A teen's brain is
also still growing and changing until they reach their early 20s. Use
of alcohol and drugs complicates, confuses and damages the process of
growing up."

Parents should also serve as role models with responsible drinking and
prescription drug use. And last, but not least, trust is important,
but it's a very good idea for parents to lock up or at least monitor
their liquor.

If your child does slip up once or twice, help him or her
out.

"Many teens experiment with alcohol and drugs with little or no
serious consequences, so don't overreact to one or two incidents,"
Kinsey said. "Teens often learn by making mistakes. And parents are in
the best position to help teens learn from their mistakes."