Pubdate: Sun, 01 Apr 2001
Source: Arizona Daily Star (AZ)
Copyright: 2001 Pulitzer Publishing Co.
Contact:  http://www.azstarnet.com/star/today/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/23
Author: Stephanie Innes

YOUTH DRUG ARRESTS SOARING FOR WIDE ARRAY OF REASONS

Pima County young people are not committing as many violent crimes, but new 
statistics indicate more of them are getting in trouble for drugs.

Court officials say it's crucial for kids to get drug habits under control 
before they join the 18-24 age bracket, which is more vulnerable to abuse 
of narcotics such as Ecstasy.

Data released last week by the Pima County Juvenile Court Center show 
arrests of those 17 and younger on drug charges rose last year to the 
second-highest number in a decade.

Last month the Juvenile Court Center stepped up efforts to fight drug abuse 
among youths by opening a 20-bed detention area for addicts. They can stay 
up to 30 days through the Drug Court program.

With two doctors on call for the "Drug Pod,'' as the detention area is 
called, youths have access to help for problems that can aggravate 
addiction, such as depression, mental illness or fetal alcohol syndrome.

Drug Court is an intensive program for delinquents with drug problems. It 
offers reduction or dismissals of charges in exchange for up to a year of 
intense supervision, including weekly court sessions, group counseling, 
drug screening and community service.

By 18, youths are no longer eligible for programs through the Juvenile 
Court Center. They are considered adults. An arrest for possession could 
result in prison time. And in Arizona the penalties can be stiff - up to 
12.5 years behind bars for selling Ecstasy, for example.

"Kids do experiment with drugs and alcohol, and they are not a lot of times 
prudent about how they do it," said Presiding Juvenile Court Judge Nanette 
Warner. "If one tablet of LSD is good, they reason seven must be better. 
They have developing brains and lack of judgment.''

Warner said the drug arrests do not reflect the bigger picture. Many 
delinquents not counted in the drug arrest numbers also have 
substance-abuse problems, coming in on charges such as burglary and 
domestic violence.

Youth drug arrests have gone up more than 500 percent in Pima County since 
1990; the county population went up 26.5 percent during that same time.

Part of the rise may be due to better reporting, stricter laws, improved 
enforcement and the placement of court resource officers in local schools, 
court officials say. More school officials call law enforcement when kids 
are caught with drugs.

Contributing to increased drug use are dysfunctional families, depression, 
peer pressure, availability and population growth.

"Trauma can affect addiction, and there is a lot of trauma going on in 
young people's lives,'' said Tryshe Dhevney.

Dhevney is founder and artistic director of Coming To, a local drug 
prevention and education program run by Compass Healthcare that uses live 
theater to deliver its message.

Dhevney has run anti-drug theater programs in three cities since 1984 and 
has observed more younger kids abusing substances in recent years. She 
believes that despite anti-drug messages, television, movies and the 
Internet are constantly barraging young people with images of drugs and 
alcohol, piquing their curiosity.

The most popular drug abused by the youths who go through Juvenile Court is 
marijuana. Also popular are alcohol, cocaine and "roches,'' which is the 
street name for the sleeping pill Rohypnol.

About one-quarter of the youths who go through Drug Court have tried 
Ecstasy, a hallucinogen that is increasing in prevalence, according to 
local officials. But Ecstasy is rarely their drug of choice.

Neither is crystal methamphetamine, popular in the '90s.

Drug Court coordinator Lynne Parente said the youths she sees - 215 so far 
have gone through the program - are not merely experimenting. Many are 
already addicts.

Some were exposed in the womb. Others have drug-using parents who see no 
problem.

Some of the youths started using drugs as early as the ages of 6 or 7, she 
said.

Youths are also hypersensitive to issues like relationship failures or the 
loss of a loved one. Drugs are a quick fix to the pain. They also alleviate 
boredom, many youths report.

Take Randy Bowler. The 14-year-old was 12 when he started drinking alcohol 
and smoking marijuana. The West-Central Tucson resident said he worked up 
to daily marijuana use. He wasted a lot of time and his grades dropped. He 
was arrested for possession and placed on probation. But after Bowler 
tested positive for marijuana three times, his probation officer sent him 
to Drug Court.

"Doing drugs is kind of mysterious, especially when there's nothing else to 
do,'' said Bowler, who has since enrolled in the Tucson Unified School 
District's ArtWORKS Academy and uses art as his outlet. He wants to be a 
tile designer.

Rade Stewart, 14, was about 10 years old when he began smoking marijuana. 
He then discovered cocaine and was smoking it nearly every day when he was 
arrested for possessing drugs on school grounds.

"Marijuana wasn't bad, but I found cocaine addictive. I never slept,'' said 
Stewart, another recent Drug Court graduate.

Drug Court includes mandatory family participation in a rocks-and-ropes 
course, which allows the kids to experience the "high'' of physical activity.

"Kids on drugs have such a narrow focus. They don't know what's out in the 
world, and they need to find their passion, whether it's dance or horseback 
riding,'' Parente said.

Jim Schiller, coordinator of children's services for CODAC Behavioral 
Health Services, which works with juvenile delinquents battling drug 
problems, said what drug-abusing juveniles need more than anything are 
mentors, along with businesses willing to help them out with scholarship 
opportunities.

"These kids come back into the community, and the community has to be there 
for them,'' Schiller said.
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