Pubdate: Wed, 24 Oct 2001
Source: Ann Arbor News (MI)
Copyright: 2001 The Ann Arbor News
Contact:  http://aa.mlive.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/20
Author: Tom Tolen

MIXED RESULTS IN BRIGHTON SCHOOL DRUG SURVEY

BRIGHTON - A large number of Brighton students continue to use alcohol and 
marijuana, although substance abuse appears to be declining overall in the 
district, a newly released survey shows.

Nearly a third of the 12th-graders admitted using marijuana and 51 percent 
said they had drunk alcohol within the 30 days before the survey of about 
300 eighth-, 10th- and 12th-grade students was taken by the district last 
spring.

Superintendent Dave Pruneau says the survey indicates that parents need to 
be more involved in their children's lives.

"It looks like (overall), the rates are going down," Pruneau said. "What's 
discouraging is the percentage of kids who take drugs and alcohol. We're 
doing a lot in the schools that addresses the issue, but we need community 
support to reduce risk-taking behaviors."

The survey shows alcohol and drug use down among eighth- and 10th- graders. 
But the number of 12th-graders using marijuana was up 9 percentage points 
from a survey taken in 1999, while the percentage of those drinking alcohol 
fell 6 points.

"Binge" drinking increased substantially in the 12th grade, with 44 percent 
reporting having been "very drunk one or more times within the past month." 
Also, one of five seniors has driven a car after drinking, reversing an 
eight-year decline.

One of the bright spots in the survey, taken every other year since 1989, 
was a continued decrease in the number of students in all three grade 
levels who smoked cigarettes. Bonnie Riutta, assistant superintendent for 
curriculum, said cigarette smoking in the Brighton Area Schools is now 
below both the state and national averages.

The survey, released at Monday's Board of Education meeting, is patterned 
after a University of Michigan survey developed by Lloyd D. Johnston, 
principal investigator in the 2000 "Monitoring the Future" study.

High school learning coordinator Barb Williams told the school board that 
students say the percentages in the survey "are on the low side" compared 
to the reality.

Williams says many people in the community don't want to admit there is 
drug use among its children.

"We go through a lot of denial in Brighton," Williams said, urging the 
board to send a strong message to students. "If we continue to work hard to 
get kids to understand drugs and alcohol are harmful, we will continue to 
impact their use of drugs," she said.

Among specific drugs, the rates of 12th- and 10th-graders reporting they 
have tried marijuana at least once, or in the past 12 months, "have 
declined moderately over the past six years," the report states.

But the use of cocaine, an amphetamine, has increased, with 16 percent of 
12th-graders saying they had tried it at least once, continuing an upward 
spiral over the last eight years. Use by seniors of LSD, a hallucinogen, 
has also increased, with more than one-fourth reporting they used it at 
least once. The increases put Brighton above the state and national 
averages, which show a decline.

"It scares me," school board president Cindy Cvengros said, calling it a 
"community problem."

Students were not asked whether they had used ecstasy, a trendy and 
dangerous drug, but it may be added to the 2003 survey, Cvengros said.
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MAP posted-by: Beth