TEEN METH USE ALARMS SCHOOL OFFICIALS

Popular Drug Slowly Seeping Into Teenage Community

"Meth is almost like a body snatcher. It reaches out and grabs these
kids almost overnight." - Dr. Jim Lewis, Blaine County School
District superintendent

"This is a wonder drug for kids. They feel smart, strong and
invisible, and then they crash." - Barge Levy, Silver Creek
Alternative School director

Recognize Teen Meth Use

Indications your teen may be using methamphetamine include:

* Change in grades

* Change in attitude

* Change in attendance

* Sudden shifts in peer groups

* Deteriorating health conditions

*Weight loss

* Nervous behavior, scratching

* Staying up late

* Breaking curfew

* Lack of hygiene

* Possessing unusual amounts of money

* Irritable behavior

* Secretive conduct

In December 2005, a Wood River High School student tested positive
for methamphetamine.

The result marked the high school's first positive methamphetamine
test this school year. Now, Blaine County school officials are
worried about teens' use of and access to the highly addictive white powder.

"Boy am I worried about the kids in this community ... I see more
and more meth. That is very disturbing," said Barge Levy, Silver
Creek Alternative School director.

Similar concerns echo up and down the Wood River Valley.

"I see kids that I have known or worked with since they were in
sixth grade that are basically going down the tubes because of meth
use," said Tod Gunter, Wood River Middle School and Silver Creek
Alternative School social worker.

Alarm mounts, given the dangerous nature of the substance.

"If you use meth, you are playing Russian roulette with a really
deadly drug," said John Blackman, vice principal of Wood River High
School, in Hailey.

Blackman speaks openly about his disgust with the drug. His brother
is a meth user. As vice principal, he relays his personal experience
to students who come to his office.

A handful of students have entered Blackman's office at the high
school to take a drug test. Blackman's responsibilities include
administering drug tests to students as set forth by the district's policy.

During the ongoing 2005-2006 school year, Blackman has given 19
tests. (Wood River High School did not provide total statistics for
the school.) The urine test can detect traces of cocaine, opiates,
THC (marijuana) and methamphetamine. Of the tests given by Blackman,
10 were positive--one tested positive for meth.

Jon Maksik, headmaster of The Community School in Sun Valley, said
he has not seen evidence of meth use at the private school.

Although it is limited, evidence of meth use in the schools
indicates the popular drug is slowly seeping into the teenage community.

"Definitely in the last two years I have seen a huge increase in
meth," Gunter said. "To be honest, some of it may be that our policy
as a school district has become stricter. We are doing a lot more
drug testing ... but I think there has been an overall increase in meth use."

Alarm Among Educators

The notion that use of the drug is increasing is disturbing to Dr.
Jim Lewis, Blaine County School District superintendent.

"Meth is almost like a body snatcher. It reaches out and grabs these
kids almost overnight," he said.

The school district responded to meth-related fears in the community
by organizing the first Community Drug Summit Nov. 21, 2005, to
discuss drug use among students. The group plans to reconvene this month.

"The alarm has come through the school district. The school district
volunteered to be the vehicle to bring entities together," said Tom
Bailey, Hailey Elementary School principal. Bailey served as the
chairman of the summit.

The school district gathered health professionals, law enforcement
officials, faith-based organizations and other entities together to
identify and attack the problem.

"We brought the entities together to say, 'What can we do?'" Bailey said.

Bailey believes meth may not be prevalent at the high school, but he
does see a need for action.

"With meth, you don't have the opportunity to just try it, because
it is so highly addictive," Bailey said.

Called the "poor man's cocaine," the highly addictive stimulant
threatens to hook users on the first try.

"That's the scary thing about meth. You don't get to dabble," Bailey said.

Highly addictive and physically annihilating, meth's long-term
effects include brain damage, dramatic weight loss, skin sores and
corroded teeth.

Derek Brown, the Wood River High School resource officer and a
part-time officer with the Bellevue Marshal's Office, sees all of
the signs of meth use in the greater community. He and others report
observing students exhibiting the symptoms associated with
meth use, specifically extreme weight loss and skin sores.

The physical effects come with a long lasting high and a depressive
crash that make recreational use virtually impossible.

"Students can't party on Friday and be ready for school on Monday,"
said Julie Carney, Wood River High School social worker.

Attraction To Young Users

So, why does meth attract young users?

"This is a wonder drug for kids. They feel smart, strong and
invincible, and then they crash," Levy said.

The long lasting euphoric high and endless energy for a relatively
cheap price appeals to adolescents. School officials said weight
loss allures female students.

Availability of the substance also accounts for the attraction.
Educators blame the increase in teenage meth use on easy access to the drug.

"They can get it any time they want. It is very accessible," Levy said.

The absence of drug-dealing violations at schools indicates that
distribution occurs away from school. Wood River High school reports
no drug-dealing incidents on campus this year.

"Most kids are buying and selling off school grounds," Blackman said.

Although the numbers indicate dealing and use occurs away from
school, officials agree that students seek out avenues to drugs
through peers at school.

"The high school is the ripest pickings for drug dealers because
(students) are all right there and young and vulnerable," Lewis said.

Lewis said the times away from school, particularly after school and
weekends, emerge as the likely windows for use.

Partying As A Precursor

Away from school, teens in the valley like to party.

"Is there a problem with drinking? Absolutely, it has been there for
years," said Graham Hume, Wood River High School principal. "Is
there a problem with pot in the valley? You bet."

The concern over alcohol and marijuana abuse arises in relation to
meth. School officials say those "recreational" drugs serve as a
gateway to methamphetamine.

"Parents will say, 'My kids won't do that,' but if you impair (an
adolescent's) judgement enough they might," Blackman said.

Blackman and Hume said that among their students alcohol is the
primary abused substance, followed by marijuana.

A survey of students in 2002 gave the same indications.

The Blaine County School District offered an Asset Survey in March
of 2002 to measure risky behaviors among teens. The survey conducted
by the Search Institute, a Minnesota-based nonprofit organization,
surveyed 1,396 local students in grades six through 12.

The survey found that 31 percent of Blaine County students reported
using alcohol once or more in the previous 30 days. Forty-nine
percent reported attending a party where peers were drinking in the
previous year.

"These kids will be pressured to drink alcohol," Blackman said.

Drug tests given at the high school show marijuana is the most
abused substance.

"I don't think it's so much of an overall meth problem as an overall
drug problem," Brown said.

The ski-town lifestyle also affects teens' choices.

"In Blaine County, we are a resort community, a lot of our focus is
on parties," said Frances Nagashima, Youth Adult Konnections (YAK!) director.

The party atmosphere contributes to social acceptance of alcohol and drugs.

"There are more excuses made here in the valley, like 'It's a resort
area, we came to party,'" Hume said.

At the same time, adults' acceptance of drugs and alcohol seems to
trickle down to teens.

"There is a drug problem at the high school," Gunter said. "There is
a drug problem at the alternative school. But there is a drug
problem in this community ... and the kids are a reflection of what
they are seeing in the community."