Pubdate: Thu, 01 Mar 2001 Source: Plain Dealer, The (OH) Copyright: 2001 The Plain Dealer Contact: 1801 Superior Ave., Cleveland, OH 44114 Website: http://www.cleveland.com/ Forum: http://forums.cleveland.com/index.html Author: Chris Seper, Plain Dealer Reporter 'WE DON'T USE DRUGS,' TEENS SHOUT ON BILLBOARD LAKEWOOD - Ashley Shuckerow and James Koltiska are not losers. Neither are their friends at Teen Institute, a Lakewood High School group opposed to drug and alcohol use. But group members are tired of advertisements they say unfairly link teens with drugs. Yesterday, they launched a campaign of their own - on a 12-by-25-foot billboard. "Welcome to Reality ... Most teenagers do not use drugs," blares the Madison Ave. sign, which features seven students: Ashley and James, along with classmates Josh Harris, Lisa Filmer, Kenzzie Green, Diane Miller and Rachel Fichter. "[People] think that all the time we're drunk and partying, that it's normal for us all to be drunk," James, a 16-year-old junior, said. "We hope to send a message to people that most teens don't use drugs," 17-year-old junior Ashley said. The students said their frustration level rose when they saw one of the state's "Loserville" billboards. Attorney General Betty Montgomery's in-your-face anti-smoking campaign features a teenager with a cigarette and the slogan: "Welcome to LOSERVILLE. Population: YOU." Even students who are hard-line smoking opponents find the campaign negative and demeaning, said Jeannie Hoopes, a Lakewood High faculty member who advises Teen Institute. "It has no effect," Josh, a 15-year-old sophomore, said of the Loserville campaign. "Most people think it's an ugly billboard." Teen Institute spent the last four months putting together a display with help from a billboard company and a local photographer. In all, the teenagers spent $300, canceling a Christmas party to come up with some of that money. The billboard will be up for six months. A 1999 survey by the Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta found that 55 percent of Ohio teens had used alcohol in the previous month, 26 percent had smoked marijuana in the previous month and 20 percent regularly smoked cigarettes. Significantly less than 10 percent of teens have ever tried cocaine, heroin or methamphetamines, according to the study. But the biggest problems in school have nothing to do with drugs and alcohol, James said. The main concern of students is balancing school, work and a social life, he said. - --- MAP posted-by: Beth