Pubdate: Fri, 26 Mar 2010 Source: Prior Lake American (MN) Contact: http://www.plamerican.com/sendaletter Copyright: 2010 Southwest Newspapers Website: http://www.plamerican.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/5142 Author: Meryn Fluker, Staff Writer Referenced: The study http://drugsense.org/url/nc7Xba69 Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/dare.htm (D.A.R.E.) Teen Drug Use on the Upswing Twenty-eight years after then-First Lady Nancy Reagan began telling students to "Just Say No" to drugs, the Partnership for a Drug-Free America issued a statement addressing a rise in teen alcohol, Ecstasy and marijuana use. The statement cited a recent study, which showed that the number of high school students who said they've used alcohol in the past month had risen 11 percent. The study also showed that the number of high school students who said they had used Ecstasy and marijuana in the past year had grown 67 percent and 19 percent, respectively. While that study was conducted nationwide, Scott County Director of Public Health Jennifer Deschaine said the problem has appeared locally as well. "We do know from our Minnesota Student Survey that alcohol use is rising," she said. "We are seeing a steady increase in alcohol use and use of marijuana." Deschaine said Scott County is one of the highest-ranked counties in the metro area for adolescent drinking. The Minnesota Student Survey is conducted every three years by the Minnesota Department of Health and examines attitudes and behaviors of various student populations about a range of issues, including substance abuse. The Prior Lake-Savage Area School District has staff members who deal directly with chemical health issues and also has two programs to address and prevent substance abuse. Drug Abuse Resistance Education (DARE) is a program implemented in the district's Prior Lake schools, and sponsored by the Prior Lake Rotary Club. Through DARE, Officer Scott Johnson spends 12 weeks in six Prior Lake fifth-grade classrooms, teaching students about the dangers of chemical abuse and how to make positive decisions regarding chemical health. "Predominately, our curriculum is focused on cigarettes," Johnson said. "We do two lessons on cigarettes, and two on alcohol. We have done lessons on household inhalants. I have done a little meth talk, and most of the kids seem aware of what it is and how it affects people; they've seen some pictures or seen it on a TV show or something. Our main focus is cigarettes and alcohol. We focus a lot on relationships and friendship making." Students in District 719's elementary schools in Savage have access to a similar program called Project ALERT, headed by Janine Alcorn, the district's chemical health facilitator. She said the program focuses on tobacco, alcohol and marijuana, known as "gateway drugs" because the incidence of addiction is higher if someone begins abusing chemicals before age 15. "Once they have an accepting attitude toward these risk behaviors, they're more likely to engage with them," she said. Aside from actual drug use, Alcorn said, risk behaviors can include lying to parents, being disobedient and even academic dishonesty. Deschaine also said drug use and risk behaviors share a common bond. "A lot of sexual behavior in adolescents is related to alcohol and drug use," she said. "Sometimes choices are made that have negative outcomes from that behavior, and sexually transmitted diseases are one of them." Deschaine cited a recent study that demonstrated a rise in Scott County's chlamydia and teen pregnancy rates, and she said that while she does not have evidence statistically linking the two to an increase in substance abuse, she believes the two are related. Alcorn, a mother of triplets who are seniors at Prior Lake High School, said the statistics indicating rises in these behaviors frighten her. "I've always tried to create a safe environment," she said. "I'm trying to get them to think it out and think down the road. Think it through: What are the long-term consequences of your behavior?" Amie Spinner, a chemical health counselor at Twin Oaks Middle School, offered advice to parents about how to halt and even prevent chemical abuse for their children. "Set the boundaries now, because if you try to do it in high school, it gets a lot harder," she said. "I think it's better to teach [children] early and let them make up their minds so that they can make a stand now." Spinner and Alcorn offered a litany of possible reasons for why, after decades of decline, teen drug use is picking up. These reasons included media images, stress and peer pressure. Both agreed that regardless of the underlying reason or reasons, prevention is the key. Johnson, who has taught DARE for three years, also said communication and education are important for parents looking to prevent their kids from engaging in substance abuse. He said he doesn't monitor adolescent drug use statistics, but he was affected by the recent figures. "It saddens me that it's on the rise," he said. "I guess I can't go so far as to say it shocks me. I'm not happy with it, but we gotta do what we gotta do for our kids." - --- MAP posted-by: Richard Lake