Pubdate: Wed, 18 Apr 2007
Source: Green Bay Press-Gazette (WI)
Copyright: 2007 Green Bay Press-Gazette
Contact: http://www.greenbaypressgazette.com/contact/forms/editor-letter.shtml
Website: http://www.greenbaypressgazette.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/879
Author: Kelly McBride
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/youth.htm (Youth)

COOPERATIVE SPIRIT KEY TO KEEPING TEENS ALCOHOL-, DRUG-FREE

Community Approach Urged For Parents, Schools

In a season of proms and other adolescent rites of passage, there 
comes perhaps a natural focus on telling kids "don't."

Don't use drugs. Don't drink. Don't get in the car with a drunken driver.

These warnings are important, experts say, as is keeping tabs on 
where your children are and with whom they're spending time.

But prom season is just one opportunity to initiate dialogue about 
underage drinking and drug use, experts say.

Facilitating those talks is a primary goal of Thursday's second 
annual town-hall meeting on adolescent drug and alcohol abuse.

Sponsored by Libertas Treatment Center and Partners in Education, a 
program of the Green Bay Area Chamber of Commerce, the event is 
designed to provide information and talking points on those issues.

"It's really a community issue that we all need to look at," said 
Rebecca Deschane, youth development manager with Partners in 
Education. "By working together as a community, we can establish a 
positive atmosphere here in the area."

Part of that cooperative spirit is letting parents know what to look 
for, both in terms of which drugs are popular and in terms of 
symptoms of use, said Libertas program director Pat Ryan. Libertas is 
an accredited and state-certified substance abuse treatment center on 
Green Bay's west side.

One common misconception is that adolescent alcohol use is "just" 
underage drinking, Ryan said. But far from being no big deal, 
underage consumption can lead to other problems.

"It's not a simple event," Ryan said. "It's not an acceptable event. 
It's a very serious event. ... All by itself it is dangerous. And 
actually, it's been shown that kids who start to drink before age 15 
are four times more likely to become an alcoholic than those that 
wait until age 21."

The average age of an adolescent who ends up in treatment at Libertas 
is about 15 to 16 years, Ryan said. The facility sees about 200 kids 
in outpatient programs and another 150 in inpatient treatment on an 
annual basis.

One of those patients was 16-year-old Scott of Green Bay, who was 
counting 83 days of sobriety when he sat down for a Monday interview 
with the Green Bay Press-Gazette. Scott asked that his last name not 
be used to protect his identity.

Like more adolescents, Scott's drugs of choice weren't illegal 
narcotics. Rather, he said he preferred over-the-counter and 
prescription medications, including cold and allergy medicines, as 
well as prescription drugs including Adderall and Vicodin.

After a relapse soon after he entered treatment in January, Scott 
started to take his drug abuse -- and getting better -- seriously, he 
said. He now attends thrice-weekly Narcotics Anonymous meetings and 
is back in school.

Using drugs that are legal -- or would be, with a valid prescription 
- -- helped Scott justify his drug use, he said.

"I'd always think, 'at least I'm not using cocaine,'" he said. "At 
least I'm not using heroin."

That's a common line of reasoning for teens who abuse prescription 
and nonprescription medications, Ryan said. Those drugs also may be 
more available to teens. But it's important for parents to know 
they're just as dangerous.

"I think there's the feeling among some that somehow the abuse of a 
prescription drug is safe," Ryan said, "and that perception obviously 
is a problem."

Officials also point out that drug and alcohol abuse aren't problems 
that exist in a vacuum. The town-hall event's keynote speaker, Drug 
Enforcement Agency special agent Mark Warpness, will discuss the 
larger impact of drugs and alcohol, as well as how to keep neighborhoods safe.

A panel of other local experts, including Press-Gazette reporter 
Scott Venci, also will be on hand to discuss issues related to drug 
and alcohol abuse. Venci, who covers high school sports for the 
Press-Gazette, has reported on issues of drug and alcohol abuse as 
they affect young athletes in the area.

In the meantime, many area middle and high schools are doing what 
they can to provide alcohol-free events related to the prom and other 
celebrations.

After Green Bay Southwest High School's junior prom Saturday, 
students will be able to stay at the school for an alcohol-free 
post-prom party, said school principal Bryan Davis.

Such events aren't a cure-all, he said, but school officials hope 
they'll help curb student drinking on what can be a big night for teens.

"For that night, I think that greatly reduces the opportunity kids 
would have to drink," Davis said, "and more than anything, give them 
an opportunity to do something else."
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MAP posted-by: Beth Wehrman