FIGHTING DRUG USE

Speaking to hundreds of teenagers, the director of Florida's Office of Drug
Control said Thursday that survey results show decreasing drug use among
the state's youth, contrary to national trends.

James R. McDonough said drug use for the state's children is down in every
category. He mentioned a 38 percent decrease in the use of crack cocaine, a
40 percent decrease in cocaine use and a 50 percent drop in heroin use. For
marijuana use, there was a 13 percent drop among middle school students and
a 5 percent drop among high school students. Alcohol and tobacco use also
decreased, he said the 2001-2002 survey showed.

The numbers buck results documenting a national increase and shows that
Florida's youths are "leading the nation," McDonough said.

His comments won applause from the more than 600 people gathered at the
Sheraton Hotel in Gainesville for the second annual Regional Drug Summit.

Professionals, parents and students from 15 north and central Florida
counties attended the one-day summit to talk about drug abuse education and
prevention. Organizers hope the roughly 300 middle and high school students
who a-ttended will take the message against drug use back to their peers.

Students attended seminars on drug abuse prevention and participated in
activities to build teamwork and communication skills.

McDonough credited the state's improved numbers to efforts by parents to
talk to their kids about drug abuse, better treatment opportunities to help
addicts, drug seizures by law enforcement and the growing number of drug
courts.

McDonough also called for community coalitions against drug use in every
county in Florida.

Students also listened to Omar Aleman, a special agent with the Drug
Enforcement Administration.

A motivational speaker, Aleman helps coordinate drug coalitions throughout
Florida and Latin American and provides assistance to drug-free youth
programs. The agent spoke about a variety of people he has met over the
years who used drugs or were hurt by substance abuse.

State Sen. Rod Smith, D-Alachua, another speaker, said the war against
drugs is not over, calling it a long battle that must be continued.

Parents who had lost children to drug abuse spoke to other adults during
one of the summit's seminars. One speaker was Alachua County Sheriff Steve
Oelrich.

Oelrich told how his son, Nick, made a post-graduation trip to Cancun,
Mexico, in 1995. The sheriff didn't want his son to go, he said, but Nick
was 18 and he went. After a day of drinking on what Oelrich called a "booze
cruise," Nick fell from a third-story hotel balcony. He landed on his head.
He didn't get medical treatment for about two hours because Cancun
officials said he appeared to be just one of many students they would find
passed out in the area.

Oelrich said if other parents find their kids asking to go on similar
trips, "Don't tell them, 'No.' Tell them, 'Hell no.'

"He's with the Lord now. But they leave us here to agonize over if we did
the right thing. There's not a day goes by that I don't miss that kid," he
said.