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Carroll County students are smoking, drinking and using
drugs less than they did five years ago, according to a survey by
the State Department of Education.
Carroll school and law enforcement officials said yesterday they
were thrilled with the improvements, crediting increased education
of younger pupils about the dangers. Officials said they were
particularly pleased with significant drops in drinking and smoking
rates at all age levels and across-the-board drops in drug and
alcohol use among sixth- and eighth-graders.
"I couldn't be more pleased," said Olivia Myers, executive
director of Junction Inc., a Westminster substance abuse prevention
and treatment facility. "You know how many years I had to sit up
here and say Carroll County is the worst, so this is wonderful."
Myers has been closely involved in the county's crusade against
heroin, which began about five years ago after a Westminster
teen-ager died of an overdose, the first time such an incident was
documented in Carroll. At that time, statistics showed Carroll as
one of the worst counties in the state for teen heroin abuse.
But the county's 10th- and 12th-graders now say they are using
heroin at slightly less than the state average. The number of heroin
users among 10th- and 12th-graders remained roughly the same as last
year - with about 1 percent of those surveyed saying they had used
within 30 days.
"Heroin is still a nightmare for us," said Thomasina Piercy,
principal at Mount Airy Elementary and founder of Not My Kid, a
parental awareness program. Piercy's son died in 1999 of a heroin
overdose at age 19.
Carroll sixth- and eighth-graders used drugs and alcohol less
than their peers around the state while 10th- and 12th-graders used
most substances at about the state average, according to the survey,
which included responses from about 2,000 Carroll students who were
polled in December.
Law enforcement officials said they believe the numbers for 10th
and 12th grade remained closer to the state average because the
county's relative affluence means many students have access to cars
and travel to areas where drug use and sales are more prevalent. But
officials said they hope improvements among younger pupils will
carry through higher grades on future surveys.
"I think it shows that what we have in place is working very
well," said Sheriff Kenneth L. Tregoning.
Students participate voluntarily and anonymously in the survey,
answering questions about what substances they have used in the past
30 days, the last year or ever.
Officials look most carefully at the 30-day figures because they
believe those numbers paint the clearest picture of how many
students are regular users. The numbers documenting use within the
last year follow the same trends as the 30-day numbers.
County officials said they remained disappointed in some numbers.
For example, 27.5 percent of Carroll 12th- graders said they had
smoked cigarettes in the past 30 days compared with 19.8 percent
statewide. Also, 46.2 percent of Carroll seniors said they drank
beer and wine, a slightly higher rate than students across the
state.
But even in such problem areas, the numbers have decreased since
1998, when 38.2 percent of seniors said they had smoked cigarettes
in the past 30 days and 57.2 said they had consumed alcohol in the
past 30 days. Binge drinking rates also have declined with 30.4
percent of 12th-graders saying they had binged within the past 30
days compared with 37.7 percent in 1998.
County officials said the survey numbers help them shift the
emphases of education and law enforcement efforts to focus on
problem areas.
Based on this year's survey, the county probably will introduce
more education for middle school pupils about the dangers of
tobacco, said Joanne Hayes, substance abuse prevention coordinator
for the school system.
Others said the data help bolster grant requests and show parents
that drugs and alcohol are problems in Carroll as much as anywhere
else.
"Back in 1995 or 1996 when we were seeing the rise in heroin use,
we felt like a lone voice in the desert," Myers said. "But the
numbers helped us show that it wasn't a hunch or a fluke."
The survey also shows that teens say their parents strongly
influence their choices to use or not use drugs and alcohol.
For example, 28.6 percent of those who said they had used drugs
believed their parents would approve of the choice. Among those who
said they hadn't used drugs, 9.2 percent believed their parents
would approve of drug use. |
