Since starting drug testing this fall, Lake Highland Preparatory School in Orlando has conducted nearly 1,700 tests and found nine violations, said school President Warren Hudson. "We feel we have changed student behavior," Hudson said. The drug tests, he said, have "empowered students who want to avoid drugs with a perfect excuse." The nine violations do not include students whose screens turned up perscription drugs that could be matched with valid prescriptions. The school started testing its about 1,200 students in grades 7 to 12 this fall in concert with a drug education program. In addition to a test of all seventh-to 12th-graders at the beginning of the year, students have been randomly chosen six times for tests during the year. The school takes hair samples that give a 90-day history of drug use for a slate of about 18 illegal drugs. [continues 94 words]
Lake Highland Preparatory School in Orlando plans to begin drug-testing all of its students in grades seven through 12 in the fall, school officials have told parents. "We're convinced this will give us a safer, drug-free environment," said school President Warren Hudson. The move is not a reaction to a specific drug problem, but an attempt to improve student safety and wellness, he said. The nearly 1,200 students in the middle school and upper school will be tested for about 18 drugs, including marijuana, painkillers, heroin and cocaine. The test, which requires snipping a section of hair, does not detect alcohol or synthetic drugs. [continues 381 words]
County Prison WILKES-BARRE - Last time Nicole LaTorre got drug treatment, it was 24 hours a day for 28 days. It didn't work. Now that the 23-year-old is locked up at Luzerne County Correctional Facility on drug-related charges, she's trying treatment again. She gets about four hours a week. Why should it work now? "I feel it in my heart this time. I truly believe. I want this," she said. Drug experts say LaTorre's resolve will play a role in her fight to stay clean, but without intensive treatment she faces long odds against success. [continues 1035 words]
Got five bucks? You could get a nick of marijuana. And for 30 or fewer, you can have an ecstasy pill. For some teens, it's that easy. Ask them -- almost every high school student knows youths who smoke weed in the bathrooms. Or drink from water bottles filled with vodka. Or scoop seeds out of apples and replace the core with pills, from Percocet to Valium. About 30 teens at South Hills Village on a recent weekday afternoon discussed drug trends in their schools with a Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reporter. [continues 490 words]
Police say slide in juvenile arrests may reflect caution by users The teen drug world is one that changes rapidly, one where police and medical personnel -- not to mention parents --must work hard to keep up with what youths know about drugs. As the new school year begins, what drug trends can parents and schools expect? According to Pittsburgh narcotics officer Cmdr. William Joyce, the popularity of several substances is on the decline. The use of nitrous oxide ("whip-its") and inhalants has dropped over the past few years, he said, as has the use of cocaine. [continues 740 words]
