Pubdate: Sat, 09 Apr 2005 Source: Journal Gazette, The (IN) Copyright: 2005 The Journal Gazette Contact: http://www.fortwayne.com/mld/journalgazette/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/908 Author: Laura Johnston, The Journal Gazette DRIVING, SMOKING, DRUGS NOT THE NORM Despite a perception of absolute depravity, Spring Break has its limits. Away from classes and accountability, college kids tend to drink excessively and make out more than they would back home, but there are things they don't do. They don't drive after they've been drinking. Instead they walk the miles along the strip of motels, restaurants and ticky-tacky bars. Few smoke cigarettes, let alone do drugs. The most obvious drug scene is the wafting smell of marijuana at the beach on sunny afternoons. "The majority come down to have a good time with their friends," said Steve McBride, 20, a Purdue University student from Fort Wayne. Neither he nor the other Purdue students have noticed any hard-core drugs, such as cocaine, heroin or Ecstasy. And no one's heard any stories of date-rape drugs -- such as GHB or ketamine -- being slipped into girls' drinks. The Panama City Beach Police Department usually arrests about 1,600 college students during the March Spring Break season, said Deputy Police Chief David Humphreys. Most charges are minor, either disorderly conduct or underage drinking. But the number of Spring Breakers has declined since the 1990s, when the "Redneck Riviera" was known as the Spring Break capital of the country, and the beach party has become increasingly easy to handle, Humphreys said. About 350,000 college students were expected during the six-week Spring Break span. "It was a much calmer Spring Break than it's been, and we're expecting about the same this year," he said. "We still get a lot of kids, but we don't have the numbers we used to have. Most of the things we deal with are relatively minor." City Manager Richard Jackson said Spring Break is not as debaucherous as some might think. "I'd be the first to tell you that Spring Break is a little bit harder to handle than other parts of the year," he said. "Ninety-eight percent of the people that come down here, we don't have to deal with. It's just that 2 percent of the population that you have to deal with." - --- MAP posted-by: Derek