A report from Lifescope's "How2Win@Life" Series.

CHILDREN AND DRUGS: PART 1 - AN ADULT''S CALL TO ACTION

"I felt depressed and hurt all the time. I hated myself for the way I hurt my parents and treated them so cruelly and for the way I treated others. I hated myself the most, though. I would take drugs to a stupor, and fell further and further behind in school and work and relationships with others. I just didn't care anymore whether I lived or died. I stopped going to school altogether. I felt constantly depressed and began having thoughts of suicide, which scared me a lot! I didn't know where to turn..."
-- Stewart, a high school student

Americans have consistently identified drug use as being among the top problems confronting the nation's schools. Yet many do not recognize the degree to which their own children, their own schools, and their own communities are at risk.

Research shows that drug use among children is ten times more prevalent than parents suspect. In addition, many students know that their parents do not recognize the extent of drug use; as a result, some young people believe that they can use drugs with impunity.

The facts are:

* Alcohol-related highway accidents are the principal cause of death among young people ages 15 through 24. Alcohol use is the primary cause of traffic accidents involving teenage drivers. Furthermore, about half of all youthful deaths in drowning, fires, suicide, and homicide are alcohol-related.

* Heavy drinking, defined as five or more drinks on one occasion, was reported by 30 percent of high school seniors, and more than one-half are occasional users of alcohol.

* By high school graduation, 88 percent of students had used alcohol; 78 percent had used alcohol in the past year and 54 percent had used it in the month prior to the survey.

* Although higher proportions of males are involved in illicit drug use, especially heavy drug use, the gap between the sexes is closing.

* Drug use is not confined to young people in certain geographic areas or from particular economic backgrounds; drug use affects young people throughout our nation. Students from non-metropolitan areas reported almost as much illicit drug use as students from large cities.

* Drugs are a serious problem not only among high school students but among middle and elementary school students as well. Initial use of alcohol and other drugs occurs at an increasingly early age. 44 percent of 8th graders have tried cigarettes, and 70 percent have at least tried alcohol. Twenty-seven percent of 8th graders have gotten drunk at least once.

* All illegal drugs are dangerous to children; there is no such thing as safe or responsible use of illegal drugs.

* Although drug trafficking is controlled by adults, the immediate source of drugs for most students is other students.

[--The above facts taken from a Federal Survey conducted in the early 1990s.]

Drug use frequently progresses in stages -- from occasional use, to regular use, to multiple drug use, and ultimately to total dependency. With each successive stage, drug use intensifies, becomes more varied, and results in increasingly debilitating effects.

But this progression is not inevitable. Drug use can be stopped at any stage. However, the more deeply involved children are with drugs, the more difficult it is for them to stop. The best way to fight drug use is to begin prevention efforts before children start using drugs. Prevention efforts that focus on young children are the most effective means to fight drug use.

Continuing unawareness and misconceptions about the drug problem stand in the way of corrective action. So if you have children or have friends with children, this is a call to action: Become more aware...

SIGNS OF DRUG USE IN CHILDREN

Changing patterns of performance, appearance, and behavior may signal use of drugs. The items in the first category listed below provide direct evidence of drug use; the items in the other categories offer signs that may indicate drug use. Adults should watch for extreme changes in children's behavior, changes that together form a pattern associated with drug use.

Signs of Drugs and Drug Paraphernalia
* Possession of drug-related paraphernalia such as pipes, rolling papers, small decongestant bottles, eye drops, or small butane torches.
* Possession of drugs or evidence of drugs, such as pills, white powder, small glass vials, or hypodermic needles; peculiar plants or butts, seeds, or leaves in ashtrays or in clothing pockets.
* Odor of drugs, smell of incense or other "cover-up" scents.

Signs of Physical Deterioration
* Bloodshot eyes, dilated pupils.
* Memory lapses, short attention span, difficulty in concentration.
* Poor physical coordination, slurred or incoherent speech.
* Unhealthy appearance, indifference to hygiene and grooming.

Identification with Drug Culture
* Drug-related magazines, slogans on clothing.
* Conversation and jokes that are preoccupied with drugs.
* Hostility in discussing drugs.
* Collection of beer cans.

Dramatic Changes in School Performance
* Marked downturn in student's grades -- not just from C's to F's, but from A's to B's and C's; assignments not completed.
* Increased absenteeism or tardiness.

Changes in Behavior
* Chronic dishonesty (lying, stealing, cheating);trouble with the police.
* Changes in friends, evasiveness in talking about new ones.
* Possession of large amounts of money.
* Increasing and inappropriate anger, hostility, irritability, secretiveness.
* Reduced motivation, energy, self-discipline, self-esteem.
* Diminished interest in extracurricular activities and hobbies.

Drug suppliers have responded to the increasing demand for drugs by developing new strains, producing reprocessed, purified drugs, and using underground laboratories to create more powerful forms of illegal drugs. Consequently, users are exposed to heightened or unknown levels of risk.

* The marijuana produced today is from 5 to 20 times stronger than that available as recently as 10 years ago. Regular use by adolescents has been associated with an "amotivational syndrome," characterized by apathy and loss of goals. Research has shown that severe psychological damage, including paranoia and psychosis, can occur when marijuana contains 2 percent THC, its major psychoactive ingredient. Since the early 1980s, most marijuana has contained from 4 to 6 percent THC-two or three times the amount capable of causing serious damage.

* Crack is a purified and highly addictive form of cocaine, and is cheaply available.

* Phencyclidine (PCP), first developed as an animal tranquilizer, has unpredictable and often violent effects. Often children do not even know that they are using this drug when PCP-laced parsley in cigarette form is passed off as marijuana, or when PCP in crystal form is sold as lysergic acid diethlyamide (LSD).

* Some of the "designer" drugs, slight chemical variations of existing illegal drugs, have been known to cause permanent brain damage with a single dose.

For more specifics on what various drugs do, go to Children and Drugs: Part 2 - Learning about them. If you want to help keep children off drugs, find out what you can do at: Children and Drugs: Part 3 - What you can do.

Acknowledgements:
A heartfelt thanks to the many individuals within the U.S. Department of Education, the National Clearinghouse for Alcohol and Drug Information, and the National Institute on Drug Abuse, who variously conducted the research, compiled this information, and made it publicly available.

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