STUDENTS NEED HELP TO AVOID RISKY BEHAVIOR

Marijuana Use. Cigarette Smoking. Alcohol Use. Suicide Attempts.

Such serious topics are troubling enough for adults; our children shouldn't
have to confront them.

But confront them they do in alarming numbers, as recent surveys of School
District 2 students clearly show. The numbers provide sobering evidence
that much work remains to be done to make this a healthier, safer community
for our youth.

The Youth Risk Behavior Survey indicates that marijuana use among Billings
students is on the rise. Forty-one percent of 330 Billings high schoolers
surveyed last year said they have tried marijuana. That is a bit below the
state average of 47 percent, but is a troubling jump from 29 percent in
Billings in 1999. The number also increased for 456 Billings middle
schoolers surveyed, growing to 19 percent from 16 percent, just below the
state level of 21 percent.

Thirty percent of high school students said they were offered illegal drugs
on Billings school property in the past 12 months.

The number of high school students who say they've carried a weapon in the
past 30 days remains at 18 percent in Billings, far above a state average
that dropped from 20 percent in 1999 to 9 percent in 2001.

The survey said that suicide attempts rose among both high school and
middle school students, from 12 percent in 1999 who said they attempted
suicide during the past 12 months to 16 percent in 2001.

The numbers that roll out of the survey aren't all heading the wrong way,
and for that we can be thankful.

Sixteen percent of local high schoolers and 12 percent of middle schoolers
had smoked within 30 days of the survey. That compares to 40 percent and 20
percent marks from 1999.

Alcohol use? It was down 10 percent in 2001 to 47 percent of Billings high
school students drinking within 30 days of the survey. Middle school
students reported 23 percent use, down from 27 percent in 1999. Though
trending down and sitting 7 percent below the state average, these marks
are still way too high for our community's 14-18 year- olds, aren't they?

Though the statistics indicate progress is several other areas, parents,
guardians, friends, neighbors, educators, employers - a whole community -
must remain committed to helping our youth cope with the pressures of
adolescence, make the right decisions and receive all the positive support
they need .