Schools

Forum Urges Community To Work Together on Drug Education

Counselor, narcotics officer ask help in preventing, detecting teen drug, alcohol use

When Leslie Roberts talks to Fairfax County parents about teen drug and alcohol use, they often say they are not very worried about their kids smoking cigarettes — it’s better than smoking marijuana, they tell her.

But cigarettes are the most frequent gateway drug to marijuana and alcohol,  Roberts said. And while not all students who smoke go on to use other drugs, many of the students she sees for other substances started using them that way.

 “I’ve never met a heroin addict that didn’t start smoking cigarettes, that didn’t start smoking pot and drinking,” Roberts, an alcohol and drug services counselor for the county’s schools, told parents gathered at Madison High School on Tuesday night. “Students can tell me at least five houses where the parents let them come over and smoke or drink. You guys know where your kids are going, or where they’re telling you they’re going. As a community we could be more vigilant in finding out where those parties are.”

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Parents, administrators and community members — among them, Principal Mark Merrell and state Sen. Chap Petersen — listened to Roberts speak at a drug education program co-sponsored by Madison’s Parent Teacher Student Association and the Vienna-Madison Community Coalition. The program also included a presentation by Sgt. James Cox, a 24-year veteran of the Fairfax County Police Department who has spent just more than half that time in the narcotics division.

“We put our kids under a lot of pressure, and one of the pressure release valves is, 'I’m going to go drink, I’m going to go smoke, I’m going to go get high,'”  Cox said.

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The agenda had initially also included the developed by the VMCC for addressing alcohol and drug use at Madison. PTSA President Michele Sanford said at the beginning of the meeting the group didn’t feel there was enough time for parents to hear all three presentations in their entirety. VMCC President Sara Freund said the action plan will be presented at a VMCC meeting April 13.

Roberts told parents that teens in Fairfax County most frequently use alcohol and marijuana, and largely do not understand the effects they have on their brains. She said if a child starts using drugs or alcohol at 13 and she begins to work with them when they’re 17, she’s really dealing with a 13-year-old, emotionally.

“I’m trying to help them understand about what happens to their bodies when they’re doing this,” she said.

Next to alcohol, Cox said marijuana is the biggest problem for teens in Fairfax County.  

“It’s coming out of California and British Columbia, and it comes through the mail. That’s one of the biggest ways it comes into the area,” Cox said. “It is crazy what kids have access to. The marijuana today is not the same marijuana [most parents saw in their own high schools growing up].”

Cox said using the Internet and specialty magazines, like High Times, teens are learning how to lace or “amp up” the drugs they do buy, or, devise contraptions that allow them to use more of the drug more quickly. Dealers often lace marijuana with higher-level drugs, like crack, so teens get addicted without realizing it.

“Once you hit that plateau with a drug, you never go back to that,” he said. “A lot of times kids end up chasing the high.”

Roberts also educated parents about several recently popular drugs or substances. Some of them, like the alcoholic energy drink Four Loko, are now banned. Others, like Ivory Wave or nutmeg, are things teens can purchase  in a convenience store.

The Virginia Senate recently voted to pass a bill that would make “K2” or spice illegal.

Among the best defenses parents can have is open, frequent conversations about drug use with their children, Roberts said. Ask questions, often; know their friends. Roberts, who offers confidential consultation for parents and students, says parents should not be afraid to address a problem if they suspect it.

“It is my job to keep drugs out of the community. I do not want to lose a child to drugs,” Cox said. “You all have to look out for each other, and I’ve got to have your help.”

Other highlights from the meeting:

Roberts said research shows:

  • The parts of the brain for memory and learning in kids who started drinking before age 15 were about 10 percent smaller than kids who didn’t
  •  Those kids were also five times more likely to develop alcoholism over their lifetime, and 50 times more likely to experiment with cocaine

 Most Common Substances Used By Fairfax County Students

  1. Alcohol
  2. Marijuana 
  3. Dextromethorphan (Cold Cough Congestion Medicine) “Triple C," "Skittles”
  4. Narcotics: Prescription drugs leftover from injuries or surgeries 
  5. Ecstasy

 Where Substances Are Hiding, Items Parents Should Monitor For Alteration

  • Lipstick cases
  • Highlighter shells
  • CD cases (also used to hide scales for measuring marijuana)
  • Hollowed cans and bottles
  • Gatorade Bottles
  • Apples
  • Toilet Paper Rolls

Prevention

  • Have a firm policy against substance abuse, and consequences that you follow through with.
  • Check text messages. Search rooms if you suspect something.


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