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FEWER STUDENTS CLAIM TO BE GETTING HIGH, UNDERAGE DRINKING

SHELBY - Fewer teens in Cleveland County are lighting up cigarettes, taking swigs of alcohol and puffing marijuana, according to numbers released this month by the Cleveland County Health Department.

For more than 10 years the department has surveyed kids in schools about their drug usage.  The results showed a significant decrease in the usage of the gateway drugs for 2009 compared to 2006.

Jimmy Hines, director of community health services, credits the public health programs, school officials and parents for the decrease this year in the report.

"We use the survey as a planning tool," Hines said.  "It's a tool to help us to do better with prevention design."

Every three years the department obtains permission from the school system and parents to administer bubble sheet questionnaires regarding drug usage.  Kids then self report the information.

"It's a continual effort no matter what the result," he said.  "We are doing better."

The Cleveland County Sheriff's Office assists the department with the survey and gives $7,500 from seized drug monies to help fund the project.

"It gives us a ballpark idea of what age group is doing what," said Chief Deputy Danny Gordon.  "It shows the information they are teaching the kids about drugs is beginning to work."

Tracking Changes

The department took a random sample of sixth, ninth and twelfth graders.  Those grades are chosen based on the stages of each teen throughout their time in school, Hines said.

"If you catch ( kids ) at the primary point in their years, the department has a better shot to see how they are doing from the time they administered the survey until they graduate," he added.

While it's not a school problem, Hines said, it allows the department to grab the data they need each time they give the survey.

"It's a community issue problem and that is an important distinction."

If the department can lower the numbers then they can improve the overall health of the community, Hines said.

"There was a time when tobacco was rapid and it's waning," said Cleveland County Schools Superintendent Dr.  Bruce Boyles.  "It helps us know what the trends are."

Preventative Programs

Community Organization for Drug Abuse Prevention ( CODAP ) Services is a department within the Health Education/Health Promotion Unit of the health department.

These programs are offered at the schools and teach students the dangers of alcohol and drugs, Hines said.

While not all will respond to the same prevention method, he said, parents can also have an influence over the decisions their children make.

"One of the biggest roles are parents," he said.  "The more a parent expects, it enforces those beliefs of what drugs and alcohol can do to a young person."

Although prevention programs take a lot of time and effort, positive results help not only the schools and parents but the community as well.

"If we tackle it like any other community problem and seek solutions collaboratively as a community we are going to get better results," Hines said.

Percentages of Cleveland County students who claim to use alcohol, tobacco and marijuana for 2006 and 2009

Tobacco

2006:

6th graders: 19.8

9th graders: 50.7

12th graders: 54.3

2009:

6th graders: 5.8

9th graders: 31.8

12th graders: 41.0

Alcohol

2006:

6th graders: 18.8

9th graders: 52.0

12th graders: 64.8

2009:

6th graders: 10.1

9th graders: 45.1

12th graders: 61.7

Marijuana

2006:

6th graders: 4.6

9th graders: 29.0

12th graders: 34.9

2009:

6th graders: 1.6

9th graders: 24.2

12th graders: 28.9

Source: Pride Surveys