SCHOOLS GET EDUCATION ON DRUG DETECTION

"At least they're only drinking beer, and not doing drugs."

When it comes excusing teens using alcohol, Lt. Tom Schwarten of the
Nebraska State Patrol said he's heard that one before.

Tuesday, the drug recognition expert had something to say in return about
teen-agers and drug abuse in America.

Speaking before Fremont Public School administrators, counselors,
psychologists and nurses, Schwarten said 2,315 youth died in this country
in 1996 as a result of alcohol-related motor vehicle crashes.

At the request of Fremont High School principal Joe Sajevic, the patrolman
and school officials participated in a all-day workshop titled "Drug and
Alcohol Abuse in the Academic Environment."

Forty school officials learned to identify seven categories of drugs and
recognize signs and symptoms of their use. Among drugs studied were central
nervous system depressants such as alcohol, barbiturates and anti-anxiety
tranquilizers; central nervous system stimulants such as cocaine and
amphetamines; hallucinogens such as LSD and Ecstasy; phencyclidine or PCP;
narcotic analgesics such as codeine, heroin and percodan; inhalants
originating in solvents, aerosols and anesthetic gases; and cannabis, such
as marijuana and hashish.

Sajevic said the session was a pro-active means of dealing with a potential
situation.

"We don't have a huge (drug abuse) problem," he said, "but that doesn't
mean we just put our head in the sand. We want to address it."

Tuesday's workshop was not meant to be "punitive," he continued, but
rather, a way of "helping kids get the help they need."

If a student is suspected of drug use, he or she will assessed by an
assistant principal, and parents or guardians will be notified. If the
student and parents agree to get the abuser into a treatment program, the
number of days of suspension from school is reduced, Sajevic said.

"Our primary goal is to get (students) some help," the principal said.
Among statistics complied by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health
Service's Administration 1996 National Household Survey on Drug Abuse, and
presented by Schwarten:

*Alcohol was involved in 41 percent of all fatal crashes.

*More than 80 percent of drivers involved in fatal crashes with positive
blood alcohol contents had level exceeding 0.08 percent.

*Alcohol involvement rate for young drivers based on the total
licensed-driver populations, is about twice that of the over-21-age driver.