DRINKING, DRUGS AND KIDS

Senior Jason Crabb is unfazed when he hears that, according to a
survey, 43 percent of Andover High students smoke marijuana. He can
even point out where some students smoke it during school hours.

"That's the big hang-out," he says, pointing to the woods behind the
AHS tennis courts. It's less than a two-minute walk from the school's
front doors - an easy escape for kids looking to dodge a class or two,
smoke pot and return unnoticed, he adds.

Not that Crabb thinks drugs are a serious threat at Andover High
School. "Kids are going to be kids," he says.

From alcohol to marijuana to ecstasy, drug use seems an accepted part
of life for many students at Andover High. All of the students
interviewed by the Townsman affirmed the drug-use statistics from the
voluntary Youth Risk Behavior Survey, administered every year. Many
suggested that the reality of drug abuse is much higher than the
numbers tell.

According to the survey results, Andover kids are not a high-risk
group compared to students throughout the state. Fewer of them smoke,
drink, have sex or have used marijuana or harder drugs than
Massachusetts kids in general.

But half of last year's senior class had tried marijuana. Hundreds had
had sex. During the past five years at least 46 percent of Andover
High students said they had drunk alcohol in the previous month. More
than 100 said they'd considered suicide, and dozens had attempted to
end their lives.

"Drinking is very big on weekends," says Kaitlin Hyde, a senior at
AHS. "Marijuana is like an everyday thing (with many students)."

Ironically, a red and white sign posted at the school's gate proclaims
AHS to be a "drug-free zone." Police, of course, try to keep drugs out
of Andover in general.

Police Effort

"I think that the police zero tolerance (rule) is very strict and is
effective," says student Megan Pinksten, co-founder of GLAM, Girls
Leadership Action Motivators. Despite that, she says many of her
fellow students abuse drugs. "Kids say, 'Cops stink! There's nothing
going on here!' But the reality is, whatever is going on is illegal."

The Andover Police Department started a substance abuse unit in
December of 1999 when several AHS parents expressed concerns about
their children abusing drugs, says Det. Sgt. Don Pattullo. In early
2000, Detective Mike Lane tracked down two AHS kids who had been
commissioned by a Texas man to sell acid in the Greater Lawrence area.
He had shipped LSD to the students in little bottles during the
previous year, and the kids sold the drug for $10 per hit.

Lane interviewed many AHS students during the investigation last year,
Pattullo says. He found no evidence that the kids had sold acid on
school grounds; however, "that's not to say they weren't," he adds.

Police did not press charges against the two students, whose names
Pattullo will not reveal, because they "cooperated" in the
investigation, leading police to the man in charge of the operation.
Greg Giamboii of Texas was arrested last week and arraigned in a
Boston federal court.

Pattullo is confident that no other Andover High students joined in
the selling of acid in 2000 - and he's confident that the substance
abuse unit is doing the best job it can.

"I've only got two guys working 40 hours a week. In reality, it's not
enough manpower to handle the drug problem that the kids say is in the
school."

If the Andover Police Department is going to keep on top of the
school's drug problem, Pattullo says he needs more money for overtime,
training and equipment. He also needs the students who know what's
going on to come forward with their information.

"We would like to get to the people who are bringing the stuff into
the school and put a stop to it there," Pattullo says. "If they say
that 43 percent is smoking marijuana, I believe they're probably
right. But a lot of kids feel as though they don't want to call the
police or get involved."

Involving Kids

Kids do want to get involved with the programs offered by Youth
Services Director Bill Fahey. He's leading an effort to construct a
youth center in town to keep kids busy after school and away from drugs.

"When kids are in school, their level of risk (for unhealthy behavior)
is minimal," Fahey says. "It's the out-of-school hours that we're
trying to address."

Several years ago, the Townsman did a series showing that kids do not
necessarily become involved in risky behavior late at night, but
rather in the afternoon, following school and before their parents
return home. That issue still exists, though youth services and
Andover High continue to offer more programs.

The current Youth Services Department is located in Town Offices,
where some kids hang out after school - something that's crucial to a
healthy mind, Fahey adds.

"Andover is a fast-paced place. Kids never have any down time. (They
need) at least an hour a day to relax... before taking on their next
challenge."

Students and AHS faculty say that kids are not lacking outlets or
resources for their emotions and problems. Many praise the school's
guidance department, the numerous support groups and the after-school
activities.

"The guidance counselors here are great. I have a great relationship
with mine," says student Jason Crabb, who spends his after-school time
in football and track.

"For just about everyone in the school there is someone they'd go to
(if they had a problem)," agrees Deb Burch, science teacher and
advisor for the Gay-Straight Alliance. But she acknowledges that there
could be a few students that slip between the cracks.

"I think the true loners - and there are some at Andover High - are
fairly few and far between," she says. "From the kids I work with, I
can't say (drug abuse) is higher. But definitely when kids are in
situations that cause them pain, one of the things they do is
self-medicate. For any young person coming out, the process to
themselves and their friends and family can be painful."

Andover in general can be a stressful community for kids, says Dave
Nichols, schools health coordinator. "There's a lot of pressure in
Andover to succeed, to look right. Their parents have been very
successful for the most part, and they're trying to follow suit."

"Because Andover High is such a big place there are so many places for
people to fall through the cracks," says Pinksten. "Someone who's
struggling academically, or cut from a sports team, that can be an
incredible amount of pressure."

School Solutions?

Although the number of Andover kids in each at-risk category is lower
than the statewide average, school officials say they're not satisfied.

"We have pretty nice stats - except if it's your kid. So I can't say
they're nice statistics," says Nichols.

No one knows that better than the students themselves, who see visible
evidence of drug use on school property frequently. Just last week
senior Joe Defabrizio said he learned that a fellow student had drank
an entire bottle of cough syrup.

"There was some girl that drank a bottle of Robitussen and she puked
in class," he says. "It was pretty dumb."

So what changes has the school system made since receiving their
sometimes alarming survey stats? Nichols says the state Department of
Education has requested that communities use health programs it calls
exemplary. Andover already used three such programs, but is trying
others. From third through eighth grade, Andover students are taught
social competency and life skills. Older kids role play, practicing
what they might do if confronted with an unwanted situation.

"Teaching kids to know what drugs are doesn't necessarily stop them
from taking drugs. It's actually practicing how to deal with those
situations," says Nichols. "How do you stop somebody? How do you
address this? How do you become assertive?"

Nichols argues that no amount of education will eradicate drug and
other problems, however.

"People can say policies make a difference, but I believe it's
involvement - parental involvement and school involvement," he says.

SIDEBAR CHART:

According to an Andover High School survey of students:

4 percent had used cocaine

8 percent had used inhalants

28 percent had sexual intercourse

32 percent had five or more alcoholic drinks in a row

26 percent rode in a car with some who had been drinking

2 percent carried a weapon onto school property

45 percent tried to lose weight