Alcohol, drug use rampant among area teens

By Lynne Johnston and Margaret Saleeby : Chapel Hill High School Drug/Alcohol Awareness Task Force
Jan 29, 2005 : 3:03 pm ET

CHAPEL HILL -- Editor's note: This is the first in a series of columns focusing on the issue of substance abuse among teens in our area. The columns, from the Chapel Hill High School Drug/Alcohol Awareness Task Force, will appear on page 3 in Sunday's Chapel Hill Herald.

It used to be we dismissed teen alcohol and drug use as a rite of passage, harmless behavior that would be outgrown. To make matters worse, decades of alcohol advertising promoted the notion that consuming six packs were a normal part of growing up.

But according to Ken Mills, a Chapel Hill psychologist who has specialized in alcohol and drug counseling for 30 years, "The scene is different now."

Today, on the average, Mills says, "young people take their first drink at 12. There is a growing mountain of scientific evidence that problematic alcohol consumption and drug use are not benign conditions that resolve as youth grow into adulthood. Underage drinkers are susceptible to the immediate consequences that were once ascribed to the older problem drinker: blackouts, hangovers, deficits in learning and memory, and impairments in functional brain activity.

"Binge drinking and drug use impair study habits and can swamp the development of transitional skills to adulthood. Add to this the growing incidence of injury, arrest and family conflict, and you have a picture of a real community problem."

In fact, Chapel Hill-Carrboro teens provide corroborating evidence, reporting that drug abuse is a problem among their peers in school. According to a survey conducted by the Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools during the 2003-2004 school year, 30.3 percent of middle school students surveyed and 69.2 percent of high school students polled believed that drug abuse is a problem among the students on their campus.

The survey results also showed that drug and alcohol use jumps considerably between middle and high school and that 18 percent of students have consumed alcohol in the last 30 days and that more than 10 percent had one drink on school property in the last 30 days.

A particularly alarming finding is that 44.4 percent of those high school students surveyed report someone offered, sold or gave them drugs on campus during the previous 12 months.

Drug use on campus also was reported by 16 percent of middle school students surveyed. More than half of high school students had consumed alcohol in the previous 30 days, while almost a third had five or more drinks at a time, and 10 percent of high school students had had a drink on school property in the last 30 days.

Half of the high school students admitted to having used marijuana, with 8.2 percent saying they had smoked it on school property in the last 30 days.

Since the data represents only 10th-graders from both high schools who were enrolled in health class at the time of the survey and whose parents submitted a permission form, this actually may be an underreported representation

The student newspapers at both Chapel Hill High and East Chapel Hill High have conducted their own research on drug and alcohol use among students.

CHHS reported in a recent issue of the Proconian that of 182 students randomly surveyed, 156 had used alcohol or drugs at least once. And while the Proconian that a national survey conducted by the National Institute on Drug Abuse found 60.7 percent of high schoolers saying they used drugs and/or alcohol at least once, this "pales in comparison to the 85.5 percent of CHHS students who were surveyed."

East Chapel Hill High surveyed 355 students in October 2004, publishing the results in the Nov. 19, 2004 Echo. This data also showed a significant increase between alcohol and drug use in the freshman year and the senior year.

Members of the class of 2005 reported that during their ninth grade, 15 percent had used marijuana and 42 percent had tried alcohol. By October of their senior year, these figures had increased to 41 percent had tried marijuana and 64 percent had used (at least once) alcohol.

The anecdotal evidence is equally strong. A local high school senior reports having witnessed on campus the presence of alcohol, pot, Ecstasy, cocaine, LSD, mushrooms and pills, including Ritalin, Dexedrine and Adderral.

Additional students report that classmates drink alcohol in their water bottles during class and also come to class high. There is use during class, on campus, in the woods near campus, and off campus, before and after school, and at lunch.

Students particularly enjoy a "party" held at homes where parents are out of town. News travels fast around schools where the party will be.

Linda Hammock, who recently served as the drug and alcohol counselor at CHHS for six years, reports she "heard consistently about the normalization of both pot and alcohol from all kinds of kids."

In other words, almost everyone drinks and smokes pot to some extent and it is considered "normal" by the student population. The more adventurous students experiment with just about everything -- particularly cocaine, DXM (over-the-counter Robitussin or Corricidin), Ritalin, Ecstasy, mushrooms and designer drugs like 2-CE or 2-CI. The hard-core kids are snorting heroin, smoking opium, inhaling Freon (yes, from the air conditioner) and snorting Ketamine.

The only amazing part is how extreme a student's use has to get before their peers feel uncomfortable enough to attempt to intervene.

Katie Maxwell, a local therapist who works with teens, was a CHHS student 22 years ago when the legal drinking age was 18. She says, "The problem existed 25 years ago, and it still exists today, only of course on a much larger scale due to the explosive growth of Chapel Hill. Back when Chapel Hill was still rather like a village, it was easier to overlook the teen drinking problem. Now, of course, with two overcrowded high schools and a third one on the way, it is getting harder and harder to 'overlook' teen substance abuse. The problem is, truly, a community problem and deserves community action."

Our school system needs to continue addressing the issue of substance use, but the problem is caused by multiple factors and deserves a comprehensive community-wide approach. Parents, the criminal justice system, PTSAs, recreation, local businesses, the UNC campus, treatment resources and the students themselves all need to be part of the solution.

This is the first article of a series that will focus on what each aspect of the community can do about the problem of teenage substance use and how we can make an impact on this epidemic. We invite a community-wide dialogue with your comments, concerns and questions.

Link: http://www.herald-sun.com/orange/10-570811.html

[LokitheEnigma]

I'd just like to say, that having attended East chapel Hill High myself, and grown up in Chapel Hill, Drugs are the LAST problem we have. In my opinion the drug use at school was no big deal whatsoever. We were still the #1 public school in the state. Yes it's true that 1/3rd of the kids at school are probably drunk or high, but I never once saw any problem occur because of that, except a couple busts, but that has nothing to do with the effects of the drugs themselves. well except one girl my senior year who decided to commit suicide by injecting a massive amount of coke, she succeeded.

At my school you had three types of kids, Soon-to-be frat/sororiety people, outsiders (punks, hippies, metal/goth kids, etc..) and then the super-smart kids, that's really about it. So of course the school's surveys are going to show high drug use, you have the rich kids you can get away with what they please, the kids that are prone to drugs, haha, and then the smart ones who are usually wacked on caffiene or their prescribed adderoll (where do you think we get it all?)

I will also say that yes, it was easy as hell to get away with drinking and smoking on campus. I can remember many a day walking to my or my friends house during lunch to get high or drink something, because at that point high school meant shit to me (I wish I had been less stressed over it in fact).

Anyway, my point is I spent my life in this school district, and with the exception of a SMALL group of children (which is to be expected anywhere), the drug "problem" at school is anything but.

[hometoys]

Additional students report that classmates drink alcohol in their water bottles during class and also come to class high.

I've never heard of such a thing!

[Mista V]

Originally posted by cmj2k2@Jan 30 2005, 10:17 PM

I've never heard of such a thing!

I knew many people who brought rum in Arizona green tea bottles or smoked-up before, during or right after school right there in the student parking lot. I even knew a guy who would drop acid in class (never got caught).

Drugs and alcohol were huge problems were I went. At LEAST 70-80% of my 120-person class alone did something on a weekly basis. The only ones who didn't were the smart kids trying to get into Harvard. The group of druggies I chilled with frequently came to school stoned as well, myself included and I barely graduated. The administration tried to avoid scandal by constantly looking the other way, as the place was suppose to be one of the top college-prep schools in the area (i.e. very rich and white). I knew kids from other public schools in the area, and they all admitted their schools had similar problems but no where near as extreme. Maybe being a private school is a factor?

I agree with Loki though, because with all the rampant substance abuse that went on the problems that resulted were few and far between. No busts, no deaths. The worst thing that happened was when one kid's birthday party got out of control and ended up in the papers when a friend of mine landed in the hospital with alcohol poisoning.

I think it differs from place to place around the country, especially in the suburbs where lack of things to do or lack of transportation to things to do leads to boredom and an overwhelming desire to escape.

[hometoys]

Was being sarcastic btw.

[Taj]

*insert article in any community around the country's newspaper and exchange town names*

There you have it, BREAKING NEWS FOR THE PARENTS AND OLDERLY!

[vapor]

I'd just like to say, that having attended East chapel Hill High myself, and grown up in Chapel Hill, Drugs are the LAST problem we have

I made the assumption myself upon reading this article. They act as if bringing vodka in a water bottle is unheard of, a revolution exclusive to this generation.

Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools during the 2003-2004 school year, 30.3 percent of middle school students surveyed and 69.2 percent of high school students polled believed that drug abuse is a problem among the students on their campus.

I highly doubt the credibility of this survey. I havnt been in HS for almost 3 years now, but from what I remember many thought it was cool to have friend that used drugs. You think that people that actually used drugs would say "yeah I use drugs". Shure people are going to say yes, but only the fucking retards.

[Eloivore]

Originally posted by vapor@Jan 31 2005, 03:35 PM

I highly doubt the credibility of this survey.

Well, the two things they do not indicate in this report, both of which are relevant:

1. Of those 69.2 percent, how many believe that the use of *any* drugs equals "a drug abuse problem"?

2. What was the actual question in the survey? Was it "do you believe drug abuse is a problem?" Or was it more like "do you believe / know that students are using drugs?"

Really, the whole thing is utter crap. What are they really telling us? Students are drinking, using drugs, and going to parties where they drink and use drugs. Just the same as it's been for the past, oh idunno, fifty years or more? I remember smuggling a bottle of rum and coke onto the schoolbus during our middle school trip to Washington DC. Hell, I think the adult monitors even knew about it, and figured it'd shut us up, and if anyone overindulged they'd learn to regret it as soon as they went to puke in the bus bathroom.

[vapor]

inhaling Freon (yes, from the air conditioner)

Also, anyone who would admitt to an adult that they smoke cannabis on campus is a fucking fool.

[ranticalion]

The hard-core kids are snorting heroin, smoking opium, inhaling Freon (yes, from the air conditioner) and snorting Ketamine.

ROFL

I dunno... This survey seems to be pretty typical of most high schools. At my high school, it was hard to find someone who didn't smoke pot or drink at least occasionally, and my graduating class hade something like 850 students. I'd say there was maybe 75 kids who had never drank or smoked up. I also really doubt the credibility of these surveys. There's gonna be kids who will lie and say they never touched the stuff, and there's gonna be kisd who think it's funny to fuck up the surveys by giving false information. I'm also willing to bet that most of the kids they surveyed had never touched drugs, because I don't think that many people who do drugs are going to see it as a problem.

Anyway, that above quote is now going in my sig.