Fighting Back, Part 1a

DEEP-ROOTED PROBLEM PARENTAL GUIDANCE, ACCEPTANCE OF RISKS KEY TO
KEEPING KIDS OFF DRUGS

Always considered a menace, drugs often are most destructive when young
people abuse them.

Adolescent drug use infects society at every socioeconomic level. It snuffs
out potential and shatters families.

It is up to adults to do something about it.

The Sun Herald recently was host to a forum of 17 professionals from
several fields, all of whom have experienced battling the adolescent drug
problem. The forum included police officers, drug counselors, concerned
citizens and court system representatives.

The panelists shared their perspectives on adolescent drug use and
discussed what they believe leads kids to experiment with drugs and alcohol.

They agreed that parents often contribute to the problem by being too busy,
too permissive or too slow to recognize that their kids are using drugs.

"I've shown parents positive drug tests and they still don't believe their
kids are using drugs," said Dr. Julie Teater, director of Gulf Oaks
Professional Psychological Services in Gulfport.

'It's not my kid'

Victoria Magers, a counselor at Long Beach Middle School, said parents
often can't admit that their children are using drugs.

"We all know that there is a problem, but when you ask parents they say,
'It's not my kid. It's other people's kids, but not mine.'

Denying the problem only makes it worse, panelists said.

Some parents condone their children's drug and alcohol use and even
contribute to it.

"Kids are telling us that their parents let them smoke marijuana," said
Albert Stallworth Sr., an addictions counselor with Memorial Behavioral
Health in Gulfport. "They are getting it from their parents, even
grandparents in some cases."

Some parents throw keg parties for their kids, believing it is better to
have them drinking at a home than out cruising around drunk with friends.

"I think my parents would be more pissed off if I was drunk and driving
around instead of staying in one place," said Lauren, 17, a Coast high
school senior.

She said it's pretty easy to deceive parents about drinking.

"Just tell them you're sleeping over at a friend's house," she said.

'Be a mom and a dad'

Tom Payne, a municipal court judge in Gulfport, said parents must take a
strict stand against booze.

"Alcohol is not a viable choice for our children, period," Payne said. "A
lot of people don't realize that it's illegal for a minor to drink alcohol,
even if they're with their parents. You cannot give it to your kids."

For some kids, alcohol is not only a viable option, it's their ticket to a
rousing weekend.

"I'm telling you, we drink every weekend," said Rebecca, 17, also a Coast
high school senior.

According to a recent study in Jackson County school districts, 22 percent
of sixth-graders and 48 percent of high school seniors reported drinking
alone in the past year.

Parents shouldn't worry that being strict about drugs and alcohol will make
them unpopular.

"I don't want a parent to be a child's best friend," Teater said. "I want
them to be a mom and a dad."

Even the best parents can struggle to shield their kids from illegal
substances if they're at work when school lets out.

Panelists said kids are at a high risk of trying drugs during after-school
hours when they are unsupervised.

The drugs they are faced with have become more potent, addictive and
dangerous than ever before.

Randy Johnson, spokesman for the Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics, said
marijuana is much stronger now than it was 20 years ago, as is cocaine.

He said use of amphetamine-based club drugs, such as ecstasy, is rising.

Teater said she has treated teen-agers who resembled Alzheimer's patients
because ecstasy had destroyed their brains.

Rebecca said a lot of her classmates were using ecstasy last year, but she
said the drug's popularity has sputtered as kids have learned about the
negative consequences of using it.

"They saw the facts," she said. "They saw how it drills holes in your brain."

Panelists said they are seeing more teens and pre-teens stealing
prescription drugs from bathroom cabinets at home to sell or trade at school.

Teater said she has worked with third-graders who peddle tablets of
Ritalin, a prescription drug used to treat attention-deficit disorders, to
their friends. She said she has worked with teen-agers who sell sex for drugs.

Rebecca and Lauren said they don't see kids using "hard drugs" such as
cocaine and crystal meth. They said marijuana is easy to obtain and widely
smoked.

"I had a friend who would smoke weed every morning," Rebecca said. "He used
to do it at the bus stop. He said it would wake him up."

The panelists said better preventive education and afternoon recreation
programs can help combat the youth drug problem, but they kept returning to
the importance of strong parenting.

They said kids want to feel safe and need adult supervision.

"They are crying out for structure and consistency," said Magers.