Health Beat: Youth alcohol and drug use in Gloucester

More than three-quarters of the high school students in Gloucester report in a 2005 survey having used alcohol in the past month, and a third of the middle school students have as well. Because of these disturbing trends, the Gloucester schools and the Gloucester Health Department are implementing programs to reduce underage drinking and stave off drug use.

In this region, alcohol is the drug of choice among youth, followed by marijuana and tobacco, says Jack Vondras, director of the Gloucester Health Department. He added that there is a high rate of opiate use in the city among adults, and though the number of young people using these drugs is much smaller, some kids are starting very young, even at ages 11 and 12.

Adolescents begin using drugs in a number of ways, he continued. They are either exposed to them by parents who are users or they become addicted to substances like painkillers after a sports injury. Other juveniles experiment with what they find in the medicine cabinet after another family member is injured or has surgery.

"There is a large potential for abuse here," Vondras said. "There is a perception that these are healthy drugs (because they are prescription meds) as opposed to street drugs, so kids may not realize they are playing with fire."

Drugs such as Oxycontin are often legitimately prescribed by medical providers to provide short-term pain relief from injuries, but they are addictive and easily misused. Vondras said dependence can develop quickly in young people, many of whom have the knowledge to grind down opiate pills and "snort" them to become high. "You can go from using doctor-prescribed pain meds to shooting heroin in four weeks," he cautioned, and added that those doing this are often "kids who normally wouldn't be in the addiction cycle."

The availability of inexpensive street drugs makes breaking out of addiction even harder. Vondras said heroin is now "very cheap," at only $6 per bag in Gloucester, so maintaining an addiction is not expensive. Comparatively, Oxycontin can sell for $80 a pill, so those who have become addicted to opiates often turn to heroin or other cheap street drugs to fulfill their cravings. In addition, dealers sometimes pass out drugs freely to potential customers to develop a ready market for their wares.

Opiate use is often prefaced by drinking, Vondras pointed out, so keeping kids away from the bottle is a paramount concern. Through a series of community focus groups, the Healthy Gloucester Collaborative confirmed that "alcohol is the first gateway, across the board, and a big factor." A Community Health Needs Assessment completed in 2005 demonstrated that 73.6 percent of Gloucester High School students had used alcohol sometime in their lives, and rates of binge drinking are also high, with 35.3 percent of GHS students admitting this. Furthermore, many adolescents are concerned about driving after drinking and their parents' alcohol consumption — in the same study 18.4 percent of GHS students reported that someone at home "drank too much." And even though the rate of drinking among youth has declined since 1997, Vondras points out "it's still so outrageously high it's above the state average."

Several substance abuse prevention projects are underway at the Gloucester schools to address these issues, says Amy Kamm, program director of the Student Assistance Program. She agreed that "everything starts with alcohol, and people make decisions to use other drugs when they are intoxicated. They also put themselves at risk, not only for substance abuse, but for assault and dating violence. "

The Student Assistance Program, a collaboration between the Gloucester Health Department and Health and Education Services, is a school-based, early identification and intervention model to prevent substance abuse. Modeled on adult employee assistance programs, which advocate supportive (rather than punitive) solutions to substance abuse problems, the Student Assistance Program is a free, confidential and voluntary resource for every student at Gloucester High and O'Maley Middle School (provided with support from the United Way).

This approach seems to suit the students; when the program was started three years ago, most of the referrals came from teachers, guidance counselors and probation officers, but Kamm now reports that students are referring themselves to the program or recommending it to their friends.

"I think it's great that kids are identifying that they need support and help about substance abuse issues. It's amazing," she said. "Substance abuse really doesn't happen in isolation. It's usually inter-related with mental health, violence and other family issues, all of which were noted by the recent Gloucester Health Needs Assessment."

To keep kids from using drugs and alcohol, Kamm prefers "multiple exposures to prevention messages" instead of scare tactics. She goes beyond teaching "refusal skills" and provides coaching that stresses healthy decision making. "Kids aren't doing drugs because they don't know how to say no," she pointed out. "We give them a safe place to talk about their options."

Parents and professionals will also be included in this prevention effort. Hoping to counteract advertising that makes using alcohol appealing, the Health Department plans to launch a social marketing campaign in September that also urges parents to set appropriate limits for teens regarding alcohol, drugs and sexual behavior. Additionally, medical providers will receive peers training as well; education about opiates will be provided for other area physicians by local doctors John Wolfe and Candace Thompson.

The GHD is also trying to intercept "third-party buyers," Vondras said, since "the biggest place for kids to access alcohol is from the over-21 population." The department originally trained restaurant and bar employees to refrain from serving minors, but has found that underage youth are not being served in these establishments. Instead, kids under 21 are being furnished alcohol by their peers of legal drinking age.

The Student Assistance Program is also focusing on underage drinking, because "this is where it really starts," Kamm said. The school-based programs strive to delay the onset of drinking because the earlier adolescents start using alcohol, the more likely they are to struggle with alcohol abuse as adults, she said.

Vondras said all of the community partners who are working to combat drug and alcohol use are encouraged by the fact that many students do not drink or use drugs. "We're building on these resiliency factors, and more and more freshmen are not drinking. In fact, 58 percent are not."

GHS is also working with a teen leadership council called Students Against Destructive Decisions, who have taken an active role in preventing abuse. This youth-led initiative, along with Health Gloucester Collaborative, plans to host a community forum titled "Take it Back" on April 3 at 7 p.m. at Cruise Port, Gloucester.

For more information about this and other community initiatives focused on reducing youth substance use, contact Kathy Roberts at Health Gloucester Collaborative at 978-282-8012 or the Gloucester Health Department at healthdept@ci.gloucester.ma.us. Watch for additional articles in this column in coming weeks for a continuing discussion of other concerns noted in the Community Health Needs Assessment.

This article is part of a regular health education series provided by the Gloucester Health Department and Addison Gilbert Hospital.

Lifestyle

Search Results

Discussion

Site Map

Contact Us