Pubdate: Sat, 31 Mar 2001 Source: Northwest Florida Daily News (FL) Copyright: 2001 Northwest Florida Daily News Contact: http://www.nwfdailynews.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/313 Author: Lee Forst COLUMBA BUSH PRAISES LOCAL DRUG PROGRAM The stop was part of a statewide tour to gather information on services that help deter drug use. The seven computers sat unused, the table soccer game had no players and the seats at the study tables were empty. It was still a few hours until the 20 or so youngsters who hang out regularly at Bridgeway Center's Free Zone would show up. But Free Zone coordinator Kevin Wilson was already busy with other visitors, including Florida's first lady, Columba Bush, and James McDonough, director of Florida's Office of Drug Control. "We have time to listen to what they have to say," Wilson noted as he explained the programs offered at the Eleanor J. Johnson Teen Center on Methodist Avenue in Fort Walton Beach. "A lot more kids are coming and a lot of parents are calling about the program," he added. "The biggest thing about the program is it's free." While that prompted laughs, the Free Zone has a decidedly serious purpose for boys and girls 12 to 17 years old. At some point during those years, they will decide either to take drugs or stay away from them. "Research has shown that the ages 12 to 13 is the critical breaking point in kids' lives," Bob Monson, Bridgeway's assistant program director for addiction and substance abuse programs, told about 30 board members and local officials later at the organization's headquarters on Hospital Drive. The Free Zone and Free Zone North, which opened in Crestview a few weeks ago, try to make their lives break the right way. That dovetails nicely with the four goals in Gov. Jeb Bush's Florida Drug Control Strategy. Mrs. Bush's and McDonough's visit to Bridgeway on Friday was part of a statewide tour to gather information on local services aimed at deterring the demand for drugs. "It's wonderful," Mrs. Bush said of the Free Zone. "It's a wonderful job everybody's doing." McDonough also praised Bridgeway's various substance-abuse treatment and prevention programs. "We're fully cognizant of the things you do," he said. "We need you to keep doing that." The Drug Control Strategy, initiated in 1999, aims to cut illegal drug use by 50 percent by 2004 through coordinated efforts to protect children from drugs, lessen the demand and supply, and reduce the social and economic fallout. At almost the halfway point, the effort is paying off, said McDonough. Heroin and cocaine deaths are down and youths are staying away from cocaine and marijuana. "We're seeing progress. We're seeing youth use go way down," said McDonough. "We're seeing cocaine and marijuana use going down 80 to 90 percent throughout the state." The bad news, however, is that methamphetamine and club drugs like GHB are growing in popularity, he added. "I'd be kidding you, and you'd know it, if I said our problems have gone away," said McDonough. He also noted that the Okaloosa County School District is the only one in the state that does not allow students to complete a Florida Youth Survey concerning drugs. The survey helps provide a data base used to grade organizations' grant requests. "It's critical we get your involvement. You need to take a hard look at that," he said as Ray Sansom, the school district's community affairs director, looked on. Superintendent Don Gaetz said later that the 97-question survey distributed by the state Department of Health also asks about sexual habits and family issues like corporal punishment that should be left in the home. "This survey contains a lot questions that are sexually explicit,' said Gaetz. "I find them to be intrusive." He would be willing to work with state officials, Gaetz added. But the survey could well have to be re-worded and designed not to take away from class time. "We're trying to focus on instructional time," he said. - --- MAP posted-by: Beth