Pubdate: Mon, 31 Jul 2006
Source: Indianapolis Star (IN)
Copyright: 2006 Indianapolis Newspapers Inc.
Contact: http://www.indystar.com/help/contact/letters.html
Website: http://www.starnews.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/210
Author: Staci Hupp
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/heroin.htm (Heroin)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/meth.htm (Methamphetamine)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/oxycontin.htm (Oxycontin/Oxycodone)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/youth.htm (Youth)

IV DRUG USE RISES IN INDIANA TEENS, IU SURVEY SAYS

A record number of high school seniors reports injecting drugs such 
as heroin and meth

The number of Indiana high school seniors who say they have shot up 
heroin, methamphetamine and other drugs has hit an all-time high, 
according to new Indiana University findings that are backed by drug 
counselors.

About 2.2 percent of 12th-graders surveyed by IU's Indiana Prevention 
Resource Center this spring admitted trying intravenous drugs, which 
users turn to for a more powerful high. That's an increase of more 
than 25 percent from a year ago, according to the 16th annual IU 
survey, to be released today.

While the overall head count of reported IV drug users is small, it 
shows "there is a subgroup of schoolchildren that are heavily into 
drug use," said Barbara Seitz De Martinez, the center's deputy 
director. "If they are using heroin and other injection drugs, you 
don't start off with that. You graduate to that over a period of time."

IV drug use has been linked primarily to older adults, but drug 
counselors say more teenage addicts are showing up in clinics. Larry 
Henry estimates about 20 percent of his young patients at Fairbanks 
drug treatment center in Indianapolis are addicted to IV heroin, 
cocaine or OxyContin. The children, who come from all walks of life, 
find drug suppliers in urban areas and on college campuses, Henry and 
others believe.

"I had a kid from Pittsboro, Indiana, using heroin every day," Henry 
said. "Where do you find heroin in Pittsboro, Indiana?"

They also have noticed that drug education in schools doesn't include 
much about IV drugs, the use of which is a primary way to transmit 
HIV. Drug prevention efforts in schools and communities over time 
have stepped up to include, for example, random testing of teenagers. 
But the efforts primarily zero in on cigarettes, alcohol and marijuana.

"We began to see some decreases" in those areas, said Carolyn Snyder, 
a Crawfordsville nurse who heads the Indiana Association of School 
Nurses. "The problem is, students find other drugs. We're finding 
differences in drugs of choice, so that's a real problem."

When Santina Sullivan was growing up, there was only one real drug of 
choice: marijuana. Now that the Indianapolis woman's daughter is 
ready to begin her freshman year at IU, Sullivan is surprised to hear 
about harder drugs such as heroin in high schools and colleges. "That 
seems like a really hard-core, addictive, terrible thing you'd see in 
a really bad neighborhood," Sullivan said. "It's hard for me to think 
about an upper-class kid with a needle in their hands."

For its findings, the IU center surveyed more than 131,000 students 
in Grades 6-12. Children in about a quarter of Indiana public and 
private schools participated, although researchers did not identify 
them. Money from the federal Health and Human Services Department 
foots the survey's bill. IU researchers did not attempt to analyze 
the survey findings, which are instead used to shape state and local 
drug prevention efforts.

"I don't know why children are injecting," Seitz De Martinez said. 
"This is a good wake-up call to let us know to what extent we still 
need to be on top of these issues like HIV and drug use in general."

By The Numbers

The percentages of students who reported problems related to drug or 
alcohol use:

Consequence 
Grade 6           Grade 12
Had a 
hangover 
5.1                    39.6
Performed poorly on a test or 
project                                       7.9                    12.2
Been in trouble with the 
police                                                 4.4 
            9.1
Been in trouble with 
parents                                                   10.2 
             19.6
Damaged property, pulled fire alarms, 
etc.                                2.9                     5.8
Got into a fight or 
argument                                                    10.8 
               20.0
Got nauseated or 
vomited                                                        6.3 
                 33.1
Driven a car while under the 
influence                                      2.1                    20.2
Been in a car driven by someone who has been 
drinking        12.2                    26.1
Missed 
school 
8.0                   11.4
Had a memory 
loss 
4.5                    21.7

Source: Indiana Prevention Resource Center's Annual Survey of 
Alcohol, Tobacco and Other Drug Use by Indiana Children and Adolescents

[Sidebar]

Other Findings

The first jump in binge drinking among Indiana high school seniors 
since 1998, after years of decline. About 27 percent of 12th-graders 
admitted binge drinking, up from about 26 percent last year.

More than a quarter of 12th-graders said they had gotten into a car 
with someone who had been drinking alcohol, and 20 percent of the 
seniors admitted having driven drunk.

A drop in cigarette smoking among high school students and an 
increase in the use of chewing and pipe tobacco.

Marijuana use dropped or held steady in all grades in 2006, which 
continues a pattern of decline.

Eleventh- and 12th-graders reported a jump in the monthly use of Ecstasy pills. 
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MAP posted-by: Beth Wehrman