A LOCAL VIEW: ARE YOUR KIDS ON DRUGS? THINK AGAIN

You don't need a calendar to see it's back-to-school time. Armed with
school lists, families wander bewildered through stores. Parents try to
figure out what is required while negotiating pleas for zippered athletic
shoes and lace-front jeans.

While school is still about the business of education, we know that when
groups of children gather, they exchange more than homework assignments.
The education your children receive from their peers can have grave
consequences.

Parents need a clear understanding of the substance abuse epidemic among
school-age children. The extent of the problem is staggering. If you think
you are immune with a child in elementary school, think again. The youngest
alcohol-addicted child to receive in-patient treatment in Clark County was
9 years old. Elementary-age children usually begin drinking with their
parents. Children living with adult alcoholics have a 50 percent to 60
percent risk of drinking alcohol weekly.

The Vancouver Police Department often responds to incidents of substance
abuse involving children younger than 12. If Sonny's new schoolmate has an
odd penchant for road flares, he may live where methamphetamine is
manufactured. News flash: National law enforcement says Clark County has
the second-largest meth problem among counties in the entire United States.

Partnership for a Drug Free Washington says middle school students
regularly engage in high-risk drinking. Among eighth-graders, 15 percent
report binge drinking. In this group, 22 percent admit drinking monthly.

Local mental-health facilities report that 25 percent of their child-
related issues are attributable to substance abuse. Among high-school
students, substance abuse statistics are sobering. Cigarette smoking has
reached such alarming proportions that schools offer smoking- cessation
programs.

Another survey of teens by the Partnership for a Drug Free Washington
reveals that 47 percent drink monthly; one in 16 drinks every day. These
students scored significantly lower on standardized tests, and teens that
drink regularly have a higher risk of school failure, assaults, unintended
pregnancy and suicide.

Fourteen high school students are killed daily in alcohol-related car
accidents, on a national average. Statistics offered by Roberts, Fitzmahon
and Associates demonstrate that 38,000 Washington teen-agers are treated
alcoholics. Who knows how many are untreated.

Initiation Time

Wait a minute, you say. My teen is not among the 40 percent who have abused
drugs. You concede that he or she attends rave parties, but you consider
these legitimate events with ticket sales handled by well- regarded
agencies. Did you know that each year tens of thousands of teens (and
younger) are initiated into the drug culture at "rave" events? Rave events
are marketed on fliers depicting signs, symbols or pictures indicating
"Chocolate chips," "E-Bomb" or "Roll" will be available. Sounds harmless
until you recognize that those slang terms are synonymous for Ecstasy, the
designer drug responsible for thousands of overdoses and dozens of teen
deaths. Washington State Patrol drug enforcement officers lament that if
you want illegal drugs in this metro area, go to a rave.

Feeling a little dazed? September is National Drug Prevention month, and
you can make a difference for your children. Local school districts are
working diligently on quality substance-abuse programs, but they need your
help. Contact the drug counselor at your child's school and find out what
you need to know about school programs.

Knowing more about drugs than your kids do, and keeping kids active with
school and family activities is your best line of defense. That, and really
talking to your kids about substance abuse cigarettes, alcohol and drugs.
Find out what they know and how they know it. A survey released in July
2002 by National Parents' Resource Institute for Drug Education Inc. showed
that children who said that parents who warn them "a lot" about drugs
reported lower drug use than those who said parents never do so.

More information and tools are available at www.co.clark.wa.us.