Pubdate: Tue, 24 Mar 2015
Source: Gazette, The (Colorado Springs, CO)
Copyright: 2015 The Gazette
Contact: http://www.gazette.com/sections/opinion/submitletter/
Website: http://www.gazette.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/165
Authors: Pula Davis, Wayne Laugesen, Christine Tatum
Series: Special report, 'Clearing the Haze:'

PARENTS, SCHOOLS SAY MORE YOUTHS USING POT

Employers aren't the only ones drug testing these days. Parents are 
springing tests on their kids, who are smoking more marijuana since 
legalization. The owner of two labs in Colorado Springs reports 
seeing large increases in such tests.

Amy Mullins, who owns two Any Lab Test Now franchises, says the 
number of drug tests conducted at her location near Chapel Hills Mall 
was up more than 22 percent in 2014 over the prior year. It was even 
higher at her south-side location: Testing was up 45 percent.

"I thought 22.4 percent was insanely high," she said after running 
the numbers for The Gazette.

While the company offers everything from DNA to thyroid panels, 
Mullins said it's not uncommon to receive multiple phone calls a day 
from moms and dads about marijuana.

"We have had an uptick for sure in parental testing. We're seeing a 
lot more parents bring their kids in for marijuana testing, 
especially because lines have been blurred with the legalization of 
recreational marijuana. I think kids think they can get away with it 
because they are hearing in the news the word 'legalization.' "

Terra Runyan, medical assistant supervisor at the north branch, said 
she typically sees 10 teens a day - most of them surprised when they 
figure out where they are.

"A parent will walk in and the children don't know they're being 
tested. They just picked them up from school and took them straight 
here." Some, she said, save their parents the $49 testing fee and 
confess to using marijuana.

The increase comes in the aftermath of surveys that show teens have a 
decreasing perception that marijuana is harmful.

The 2014 Monitoring the Future survey, released by the National 
Institute on Drug Abuse, showed marijuana use "steady among 
eighth-graders at 6.5 percent, 10th-graders at 16.6 percent and 
12th-graders at 21.2 percent. Close to 6 percent of 12th-graders 
report daily use of marijuana.

"However, the majority of high school seniors do not think occasional 
marijuana smoking is harmful, with only 16.4 percent saying 
occasional use puts the user at great risk, compared to 27.4 percent 
five years ago," according to the survey.

In addition, a June 2014 survey of 100 Colorado school resource 
officers conducted by the Rocky Mountain High Intensity Drug 
Trafficking Area found that:

89 percent of officers saw an increase in marijuana-related incidents 
since recreational marijuana was legalized.

The most common on-campus violation was possession, followed by being 
under the influence and then by possession of edibles.

Colorado Springs Police Chief Pete Carey said school resource 
officers are being "inundated" with issues regarding vape pens.

"I'm worried about how it's affecting our kids, our expulsion rates 
and suspensions," Carey said.

It's too early to tell how marijuana is affecting schools in the 
Pikes Peak region. District 11 reports that through mid-January of 
this academic year, 102 students were suspended or expelled for 
incidents related to marijuana. In all of 2013-14, there were 184 
suspensions/expulsions.

A Gazette analysis shows that overall, local school districts 
recorded 602 drug violations in 2013-14, up 12 percent from the 
previous year. That's higher than the state average increase of 7.4 
percent. Statewide, drug incidents reported by all public high 
schools hit a decade high last school year of 5,377.

While local middle schools had the highest percentage increase (24 
percent), high schools in the region had the most violations last 
year - 469. That's an increase of 8.3 percent. Statewide, high school 
violation numbers were flat.

[sidebar]

Day 3: YOUTHFUL ADDICTION

Protecting our children was a priority as the public headed to the 
polls to vote on Amendment 64. The most recent research on adolescent 
brain development and related addiction studies indicates this is 
more important than ever thought before. Adolescent exposure to 
marijuana is most troubling because young users are more vulnerable 
to addiction throughout their lives. Post-legalization trends in 
Colorado raise concerns because regulation has fallen short of the 
promises made by the state. The increasing rate of pot use also is a 
concern of employers.

About the series

The reporting team: editorial board members Pula Davis and Wayne 
Laugesen and local reporter Christine Tatum.

After the first year of recreational pot sales, The Gazette takes a 
comprehensive look at the unintended consequences of legalizing sales 
and use of recreational marijuana.

Day 1: Colorado has a fragile scheme for regulating legal marijuana 
and implementing a state drug prevention strategy.

Day 2: One of the suppositions about legalizing pot was that 
underground sales would be curtailed, but officials say there is 
evidence of a thriving black market.

Day 3: One teen's struggle to overcome his marijuana addiction shows 
how devastating the effects of the drug can be for younger, more 
vulnerable users.

Day 4: Amid the hoopla about recreational marijuana sales, the 
medical marijuana industry is flourishing and has its own set of 
complicated concerns.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom