Students talk drug abuse
Teens say 'clean' students are sometimes left out
Tuesday, January 30, 2007
GALESBURG - Drawing on tables led to discussions of parent involvement, liquor licenses and ways to curb underage substance abuse, at the annual meeting of the Knox County Substance Abuse Prevention Coalition.Twenty-four people, including four students from ROWVA and Galesburg high schools, attended the meeting Monday. Members of the Galesburg Police Department and Knox County Sheriff's office were also present.
After presentations by the Alcohol, Tobacco and Illicit Drug task forces, those gathered were asked to get into groups at tables and write out their ideas on the table cloths with colored markers the coalition provided.
One of the key problems identified was a lack of prevention programs and support in schools after students finish programs like DARE in junior high.
"Just continue to do what you do in fifth and sixth grade. We just want to help because it's really bad at our high school," Darci Anderson, 16, of GHS said. "High school's when it gets really, really bad."
"Sometimes you just need reassurance," said Caisha Gayles, 17, also of GHS. She said the peer pressure students face in high school to abuse drugs or alcohol is greater than in younger grades. She argued that programs like GHS' CARE need to be more inclusive in order to deal with the problem.
Another factor all three tables said needed to be addressed was why parents were concerned about the problem. One suggestion was that parents were more concerned about why a student was caught with drugs or alcohol as opposed to why they had them. Lt. Joe Luna, police liaison to GHS, agreed.
"You're trying to explain to them that Johnny had drugs," Luna said. "But, most of the complaints we get on the phone are why were we searching Johnny or Johnny's locker at all."
Students such as ROWVA's Brooke Saline, 16, and Lynnae Grandin, 17, brought up the issue of attitudes about those who do not use drugs or alcohol. Students who do not abuse substances can be ostracized, Saline and Grandin said.
"There are some kids who are loud about it," Saline said, referring to students who do not approve of or use alcohol or drugs. "There's just not enough of them." She said that while she is vocal about the issue, she also is not invited to gatherings because she makes her opinion known.
Anderson's table suggested another avenue for the Coalition to pursue involving liquor licenses and punishments for those vendors who violate laws regarding substances.
Rhonda Brady, president of the coalition, took notes on the discussion and said the suggestions would be used in the coalition's work and plans for 2007.
In 2006, the coalition's Alcohol Task Force worked with the city of Galesburg to strengthen penalties for underage alcohol possession and consumption. The Tobacco Task Force moved forward with its Smoke-free Kids program while the Illicit Drug Task Force prepared fliers about marijuana usage that will be delivered along with pizzas Super Bowl weekend. The coalition also worked with local prevention agencies to gain the participation of several Knox County school districts in the 2006 Illinois Youth Survey, the first comprehensive study of teen substance abuse in the county's history.
