Pubdate: Thu, 22 Aug 2002
Source: New Times (CA)
Copyright: 2002 New Times
Contact:  http://www.newtimesslo.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1277
Author: Rodda Leage

ORAL DRUGS AND SLO COUNTY KIDS

Local Teens Are Abusing Marijuana And Alcohol While Adults Ignore The Problem

If you think drug and alcohol abuse among local teens is going down, you're 
wrong, according to Janice Fong Wolf.

Wolf is the administrative coordinator with Action for Healthy Communities, 
a local collaborative comprised of non-profit, business and government 
organizations that conducted a county-wide, drug-use survey last year.

San Luis Obispo County might be a small, peaceful, tightly knit community, 
but Wolf and others warn that looks are deceiving  that's why she's not 
surprised by the discrepancy between the reality of SLO County's teen drug 
use and our perception of it.

"Our substance abuse rates are higher than the national average because you 
can't address a problem until you acknowledge it exists," she says. 
"Generally the perception of SLO County is that it's a beautiful and safe 
place to live, but that can be dangerous if it leads us to believe we don't 
have to address substance abuse in our community."

But relaxed attitudes about alcohol and marijuana are becoming the norm not 
just in SLO County, but all across America. Many health officials are 
becoming increasingly concerned about the youthful drug use and the relaxed 
attitudes of parents.

With 9/11 came an immediate and noticeable decline in drug and alcohol use 
among teenagers nationwide, according to the Pride Survey, a semi-annual 
study touted by the White House as measuring drug policy effectiveness. The 
study, released in July, queried over 100,000 students in grades 6-12 
nationwide and concluded that drug use was the lowest in the survey's 
15-year history.

But another analysis by the California Healthy Kids Survey, a service of 
the California Department of Education, reported slightly higher averages 
of alcohol and marijuana for U.S. teens than the Pride Survey's national 
average.

In the Healthy Kids survey, 48 percent of SLO County's 11th graders 
admitted to drinking alcohol in the past 30 days, compared to the national 
average of 31 percent. Twenty-six percent of SLO County's high school 
juniors admitted being drunk or high on drugs on campus at least once, and 
7 percent said they have used marijuana and then attended classes.

Local parents often underestimate the problem, according to the Healthy 
Kids Survey of 2001. Only 28.7 percent of parents believe that drugs and 
alcohol abuse problems at school are "very serious."

But since the figures in the Healthy Kids survey are from 1999, can we 
really get an accurate picture of drug use in SLO County today? Fong Wolf 
admits that it's hard to tell.

"We hope that the national trend is true for San Luis Obispo. However, when 
we look at [our[ 1999 Healthy Kids] survey compared t our 2001 survey, we 
don't see a drop. Locally, our situation is not improving," she says.

So why isn't there more current local data?

"The Pride Survey doesn't have local data," explains Fong Wolf, "so we do 
our own report with the amount of resources that are available. We try to 
be the most effective as possible with our limited resources, and gather as 
much secondary data as possible."

Elisa Leigan, a prevention specialist at the county's Drug and Alcohol 
Services and a former individual and group counselor, agrees that there is 
an abuse problem.

Leigan often deals with parents that dismiss the use of alcohol and 
marijuana as merely "child's play," not addressing the problem until it is 
too late.

"It isn't just the family that's complacent. The community becomes 
complacent. If we don't all take some responsibility for the youth, they 
will fall through the cracks. Being a member of the community implies a 
certain amount of responsibility."

She adds, "Some parents have let the school, TV, and other people raise 
their children. But kids really need that connection, they need adults in 
their lives who value them."

But amid al the numbers and criticism, we should remember that plenty of 
kids don't use drugs and alcohol, which Leigan is quick to emphasize.

"The majority of kids are doing good things, and this generation of kids is 
more involved in community service than any other generation, but they 
don't usually make news."

There are numerous local organizations working to reduce teen drug use, and 
to reduce the gap between teens' self-reported drug use and adults' perception.

One solution embraced locally is Friday Night Live, a prevention component 
of Alcohol and Drug Services. The 11-year-old program has recently expanded 
to provide programming for children as young as fourth grade. With school 
personnel, program administrators provide teens an opportunity to engage in 
drug and alcohol-free events like rafting, community service, and social 
events, as well as education programming.

Kimberly Mott, a prevention specialist with Drug and Alcohol Services, says 
that thousands of youth are involved year-round in the club, providing an 
opportunity to garner positive peer support as well as developing a support 
system outside the family.

But is that enough? Kids entering this program aren't likely to be the same 
kids getting caught behind the baseball field smoking pot, nor are they the 
teenagers who end up in Leigan's office.

A program for first-time offenders, funded through the SLO County Probation 
Office, is called "Intense Community Diversion (ICD)." It allows offenders 
to bypass the court system, in exchange for counseling for parents and 
siblings. In this way both the adults and the children are being educated 
and made aware of the dangers.

Nancy Lindholm, a supervising deputy probation officer with ICD, views drug 
abuse among teens as a family problem, and often finds a pattern of abuse 
beginning with the parents to be a core issue driving youngsters to use 
drugs. That complacency often becomes denial, creating even more problems.

"We try to find where the pain is coming from and give the families the 
tools to fix the problems themselves," says Lindholm.

In programs that center around educating families, the hope is that both 
adults and children will be receptive to changes. SLO County's Drug and 
Alcohol Services offers a Program for Youth and Family with counseling and 
educational services family members over age 11.

Karen Rogers, a specialist and youth and family team leader for the 
program, also views the situation as a family issue, not just an individual 
problem.

"The teen is usually the one to bring attention to the family," she says.

Leigan says parents don't always realize how much times have changed.

"Today's marijuana is not your marijuana," she says. "It's 10 times more 
potent than what people were smoking in the 60's and 70's."
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