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Series: 9 Of 16

WHERE IT BEGINS

Statistics give local students mixed grades on drug use.  ( Jerry Martin/The Daily Home ) When it comes to drug use in schools, area youths receive mixed grades.  Data indicates a higher percentage of use in grades six, seven and eight locally compared to nationally.  But fewer students in grades nine, 10 and 11 are using drugs than the national average. 

Sylacauga, Pell City, Talladega city and Talladega County are among more than 9,500 school systems nationally that use the PRIDE survey to measure illicit drug use.  PRIDE stands for Parents Resource Institute for Drug Education. 

All school systems receiving funding through the Safe and Drug Free Schools and Communities Act - SDFSCA - under the new No Child Left Behind legislation must comply with federal law and do a drug assessment survey. 

The PRIDE survey was one of two surveys selected by Congress to measure illicit drug use.  Since 1982, schools across the nation have used the PRIDE surveys questionnaire to identify student levels of drug use, violence and other behaviors. 

The survey provides data required by 2002 HR1 education bill - commonly called No Child Left Behind.  The bill was signed into law in January 2002 and schools are required to report on the "incidence and prevalence, age of onset, perception of health risk, and perception of social disapproval of drug use and violence by youth."

Changes in student behavior can be measured over time, allowing an individual school, system or state to measure many of their goals and objectives. 

Results of the PRIDE survey conducted in 24 states in the 2002-2003 school year for grades six through 12, with 109,919 students surveyed, found 14,182 monthly marijuana smokers. 

Marijuana use nationally was, for grade six, 2.9 percent; grade seven, 7.7 percent; grade eight, 12.7 percent; grade nine, 22.1 percent; grade 10, 29.8 percent; and grade 11, 32.6 percent. 

Major findings from the survey show one in eight students, 13 percent, smoke monthly or more often.  Of these, 60 percent started before age 14; 85 percent before age 16; 74 percent smoke weekly; 36 percent smoke daily; 82 percent get "very high;" and 57 percent are male. 

A total of 86 percent of students who use drugs smoke marijuana. 

Students who use marijuana at least once a month are more likely to act violently, join gangs, carry guns and contemplate suicide, according to the latest Pride surveys released in September. 

Monthly marijuana smokers are less likely to make good grades and join extracurricular activities. 

One in four used illegal drugs once or more in the past year.  Use was up 2 percent from last year, but lower than the 10-year average of 26 percent, with no change in the five-year average of 24 percent. 

Over the five-year period from 1999 to 2003, annual use of illegal drugs ranged from a low of 22 percent to a high of 27 percent, averaging 24 percent over the period.  In the 2002-2003 school year, 24 percent of students reported annual use of an illicit drug. 

Asked where they use illicit drugs, students most frequently responded at a friend's home and least frequently said school.  More said they use drugs in a car or in their own home than in schools. 

Most students said weekends are when they use drugs; few said they did so at school.  Other students said they use drugs after school and on weeknights. 

From wine coolers to steroids to ecstasy to OxyContin, questions focused on when drugs are used, if students feel they are harmful to their health, how often drug were used in the past year, where the drugs are used, when they were first used, how often they are used, how easy is it to get drugs and alcohol, and what effect do students get from using them. 

Students responding to the PRIDE survey were less likely to use, buy or sell drugs at school, but they also said they were more likely to carry a gun outside school buildings, and more likely to be punished by school officials than parents when they break the rules. 

While 8 percent said they buy or sell drugs at school, 14 percent said they sold drugs off school grounds. 

The study found that both educators and parents talk to youths about the problems of drugs, and set clear rules, but school personnel were more likely to administer punishment when rules were broken.  More than three-fourths of students ( 76 percent ) said schools were likely to punish them for breaking rules, compared to 59 percent who said their parents were likely to punish them. 

And, according to the survey, student drug problems are not a matter of not getting the word out. 

Only 19 percent of students said their teachers never talk to them about alcohol and drug problems, and only 15 percent said their parents never do so. 

Individual school system results from the PRIDE survey are:

Sylacauga

Marijuana use - grade 6, 4.3 percent, national average, 2.9 percent; grade seven, 11 percent, national average, 7.7 percent; grade eight, 8.8 percent, national average, 12.7 percent; grade nine, 15.2 percent, national average, 22.1 percent; grade 10, 17.9 percent, national average 29.8 percent; and grade 11, 24.6 percent, national average, 32.6 percent. 

Talladega County

Talladega County broke its usage down based on all grades for cigarette, beer and marijuana, comparing it to the national average for grades six through 11, said Beverly Smith, coordinator for county schools. 

Marijuana use by students in grades six through 11 in the county is 18.6 percent, compared nationally to 17.9 percent. 

Talladega city

Doug Campbell, special education and federal program coordinator for Talladega city schools, provided the following information on his school system's PRIDE survey on substance abuse.  Again, grades six through 11 were surveyed. 

o Marijuana use - grade six, 5.3 percent, national average, 2.9 percent; grade seven, 11 percent, national average, 7.7 percent; grade eight, 15.6 percent, national average 12.7 percent; grade nine, 25.3 percent, national average, 22.1 percent; 10th grade, 30.5 percent, national average, 29.8 percent; and 11th grade, 3.9 percent, national average, 6.5 percent. 

Pell City

Donnie Guinn, coordinator of instructional support services for Pell City schools, sees substance abuse usage going up in junior high and coming down once students get to high school.  He said that is the reason drug testing of student athletes is important on the junior high level. 

Guinn gave the following statistics on his system's PRIDE survey results. 

o Marijuana use - grade six, 4.4 percent, national average, 2.9 percent; grade seven, 10.4 percent, national average, 7.7 percent; grade eight, 23 percent, national average, 12.7 percent; grade nine, 34.1 percent, national average, 22.1 percent; grade 10, 30.8 percent, national average, 29.8 percent; and grade 11, 28.5 percent, national average, 32.6 percent. 

Smith said while PRIDE is used to survey drug use, another survey is done by the state of Alabama Department of Mental Health and Mental Retardation Substance Abuse Services Division Office of Research, Evaluation and Information. 

The Alabama Student Survey of Risk and Protective Factors looks at students in each county in the state.  It is conducted to measure the need for substance abuse prevention services among Alabama's youths in grades six through 12. 

By providing county level prevention need estimates, the survey serves as a tool not only to determine the total amount of prevention services needed, but also the appropriate distribution of these services across the state. 

Smith said he likes this study because it looks at key risk and protective factors along with substance use. 

The survey was administered to approximately 96,000 students throughout the state during January and February 2002. 

The goal of the survey, Smith said, is to supply school officials, planners and service providers with data that characterizes the prevention needs of Alabama's youth and can be used to draw inferences about the efficiency of prevention services. 

In Talladega County, 89 percent of schools were selected for the survey.  The strongest risk factors for drug use are family conflict, family history of anti-social behavior, and friends' use of drugs. 

The weakest protective factors are belief in moral order, perceived risks of drug use and school rewards for pro-social involvement. 

According to the study, 83 percent of schools were selected in St.  Clair County.  The risk factors for substance use are friends' use of drugs, sensation seeking and academic failure. 

The weakest protective factors are community rewards for pro-social involvement, religion and school rewards for pro-social involvement. 

The percentage of students reporting lifetime use of substances are:

Talladega County

o Marijuana - sixth grade, 7 percent; seventh grade, 13 percent; eighth grade, 16 percent; ninth grade, 26 percent; 10th grade, 34 percent; 11th grade, 40 percent; and 12th grade, 53 percent. 

o Inhalants - sixth grade, 13 percent; seventh grade, 19 percent; eighth grade, 16 percent; ninth grade, 18 percent; 10th grade, 16 percent; 11th grade, 13 percent; and 12th grade, 13 percent. 

o Hallucinogens - sixth grade, 2 percent; seventh grade, 1 percent; eighth grade, 4 percent; ninth grade, 5 percent; 10th grade, 5 percent; 11th grade, 4 percent; and 12th grade, 13 percent. 

o Cocaine - sixth grade, 2 percent; seventh grade, 3 percent; eighth grade, 3 percent; ninth grade, 4 percent; 10th grade, 4 percent; 11th grade, 8 percent; and 12th grade, 16 percent. 

St.  Clair County

o Marijuana - sixth grade, 6 percent; seventh grade, 12 percent; eighth grade, 22 percent; ninth grade, 30 percent; 10th grade, 35 percent; 11th grade, 39 percent; and 12th grade, 44 percent. 

o Inhalants - sixth grade, 10 percent; seventh grade, 19 percent; eighth grade, 19 percent; ninth grade, 18 percent; 10th grade, 15 percent; 11th grade, 10 percent; and 12th grade, 9 percent. 

o Hallucinogens - sixth grade, 1 percent; seventh grade, 3 percent; eighth grade, 4 percent; ninth grade, 6 percent; 10th grade, 10 percent; 11th grade, 9 percent; and 12th grade, 10 percent. 

o Cocaine - sixth grade, not available; seventh grade, 5 percent; eighth grade, 4 percent; ninth grade, 5 percent; 10th grade, 7 percent; 11th grade, 7 percent; and 12th grade, 11 percent. 

Karen Boyd, student services coordinator for Sylacauga schools, said she sees little use of drugs by students during school.  The PRIDE survey, she said, indicates students are using outside school and on the weekends, mostly at the houses of friends. 

Smith said she believes there is a drug problem, but it isn't a school problem. 

"I think it is a community problem.  I think our drug intervention programs help," she said. 

Guinn doesn't think the drug problem is out of hand based on the school system's drug testing program. 

"But if we've got a kid using, then that's one too many," he said. 

For example, in September the school system drug tested 75 junior high student athletes.  No one tested positive for drug use. 

Another 81 athletes in high school were tested.  Again there were no positive results, Guinn said. 

He said he believes the drug testing is a deterrent to use by students. 

Guinn said that preventing drug use should begin in earlier grades like sixth and junior high. 

"That's the very reason we started drug testing of our junior high athletes.  Use decreases as students get to high school.  You can see that with these results," Guinn said. 

Guinn said even a small percentage of drug use by students is too much. 

"We must make students realize they are taking their lives in their own hands if they use drugs," he said.  "We are going to continue to concentrate on the lower grades in hopes of slowing the use down by our students."

Guinn said prevention programs are helping and there are hopes of expanding these programs throughout the school system into elementary grades.