DRUGS BECOMING A RARER SIGHT IN SCHOOLS

For the first time, more than half of US teenagers say their schools are
drug-free.

RALEIGH, N.C. - Most American high schools probably have at least one
real-life version of drugged-out surfer Jeff Spicoli in their senior class.
Like the lovable but invariably stoned bad boy from "Fast Times at
Ridgemont High," he's the one constantly crowing, "Hey bud, let's party!"

But unlike the Sean Penn character, today's high school party animals are
not feeling as laid-back using the lunchroom as a drug den as they
apparently did in Redondo Beach, circa 1979.

Once a happening drug marketplace with a captive audience ready to buy, the
American high school is shedding its image as a place where drugs are done
and drug deals get done. True, teen use of substances like Ecstasy and meth
is still cause for concern, especially off school grounds and in the club
scene. But in the hallways, bathrooms, and parking lots of high schools,
drugs appear to be losing some of their foothold - a welcome development
for administrators and teachers who have toiled to turn the tide against
student drug use.

"People still do drugs, but they don't do them at school anymore," says
Matt McKinney, a junior at Athens Drive High School in the west end in
Raleigh, N.C.

These observations are backed up by a just-released survey that says that
this year, for the first time, more than half of American teenagers say
their schools are "drug free" - meaning they've seen no dealing, no
stashing, no smoking. According to Columbia University's well-regarded
National Survey of American Attitudes on Substance Abuse, 62 percent
reported that they haven't seen drugs kept, used, or sold at school this
year, up from 42 percent in 2000, and up from a low of 31 percent in 1998.

"My generation grew up watching 'Fast Times at Ridgemont High,' and today,
that seems like a long ways away as far as drug use being that prevalent at
school," says Mike Carr, a spokesman for the National Association of
Secondary School Principals in Reston, Va.

While challenges clearly remain, experts cite a variety of reasons for the
apparent progress so far. Many say that the 1994 federal antidrug act
helped raise national awareness of what was once considered a local problem
- - and those efforts may just now be bearing fruit. What's more, recent ad
campaigns that exhort parents to "talk to your kids about drugs" appear to
be having an effect.

But the primary reason for sobering schools seems to be that years of
"getting tough" on drug dealing in schools is wearing down the black market
on campus. As Mr. Carr says, it's "getting them to think that having drugs
at school is a really bad idea."

The trend, experts agree, is bolstered by new security measures in schools,
more drug testing, and locally produced drug-abuse-awareness campaigns,
often presented as straight talk rather than admonishment.

"Everybody's scared to death of being busted," says Matt, who wears a tie
to school. "These days, most kids want to go to college. But if you get
caught at school," he says, there could be harsh consequences.

Those who gauge teen attitudes on drugs say that the new study is an
encouraging sign.

"Hopefully, this is an indication that schools and parents are paying a lot
more attention to the problem - and that kids are getting more aware," says
Joseph Califano Jr., the former secretary of health, education, and welfare
who conducted the survey.

That's certainly true here at Athens Drive, one of the most diverse
quarters of the city. Packed with faces of all shapes and colors, the
school is described by one parent as "not rich, but not poor." As with
other schools in the district, security guards on bikes and other means of
stepped-up enforcement have made a difference.

School officials also don't dawdle when problems crop up: Junior Ashley
Jones saw that with her own eyes. In a small wood behind the bus stop,
"druggies" used to convene for business, she says. But last year, officials
took notice. Some kids were punished, while custodians cleared out the
brushy woods.

"The people who are doing it are going to do it. They're just not doing it
at school," says Ashley.

Researchers say that parents also seem to be getting the message. "I think
to say that [drugs on campus] doesn't happen is an illusion," says Athens
Drive mom Rhea Lucovsky. "But I talk to my daughter and her boyfriend."

Moreover, local officials have tried to clear away the cloud of pop-
culture drug references with what they call "social norming": Instead of
harping on the fact that there are 8 million American teens exposed to
drugs at school, new ad campaigns at a growing number of colleges and high
schools point out how many kids don't smoke, drink, or take illegal drugs.

"A very important point we need to make is that most kids don't use drugs,"
says Jennifer DeValance, a spokeswoman for the Office of National Drug
Control Policy at the White House.

To be sure, experts are quick to point out that "there's no such thing as a
drug-free school," in the words of University of Michigan sociologist Lloyd
Johnston. In fact, his "Monitoring the Future" study shows that teen drug
use has stayed relatively constant since 1997, following a sharp uptick in
the early 1990s. "From what I've seen, I'm not sure we've turned the corner
yet," he says.

In fact, the new Columbia study finds that more and more kids say that
marijuana, specifically, is now easier to buy than beer and cigarettes.
Indeed, while officials have rooted the modern-day Spicolis off campus at
Athens Drive, other school districts are finding it tough going.

At Florida's North Miami Beach Senior High School, students report that the
bathrooms often reek of marijuana, and some students even carry crack pipes
on campus.

Freshman Richard Gomez says that half the school is on drugs. "The teachers
know kids are taking drugs," but they just don't say anything, says Richard
from outside the boys' locker room. "They just don't care."

One teacher also quietly confirmed drug usage on campus. "That study must
not have been from Miami," says an apathetic ninth-grade teacher who asked
not to be identified, "because some of my students sell drugs right from my
classroom."