Emporia's Children Reducing Drug Use
But meth and ecstasy show disturbing rise
By Bobbi Mlynar (Contact)
Monday, October 29, 2007
Emporia is making inroads into youngsters’ use of drugs and alcohol, according to Mike Crouch, executive director of Emporians for Drug Awareness.
“If you look at the last 10 years in Emporia, we’ve made tremendous strides,” Crouch said.
According to surveys taken by the Kansas Communities That Care organization, the trend of drug use is moving downward, he said.
Students in grades six, eight, 10 and 12 take the survey, which tracks youngsters’ use of harmful substances, such as alcohol, tobacco and other drugs.
The survey, interpreted by the Greenbush organization in southeast Kansas, also provides a baseline that makes comparisons possible — from 1998 through 2006, in most instances. Ecstasy was added to the survey in 2006 because of its growing popularity among youths.
The 2006 statistics show that local youngsters are trying alcohol, cigarettes and marijuana at a slightly later age than they have in the past.
The figures for using those drugs at least once during the past 30 days has dropped during the past eight years. Comparisons among 1998, 2006, and state averages show these figures for those who responded they had used the substance at least once in the past 30 days:
- Cigarettes, 18.17, 10.3, 12.1
- Smokeless tobacco, 11.07, 5.7, 6.4
- Alcohol, 33.68, 23.2, 31.3
- Marijuana, 14.67, 9.2, 8.6
- Inhalants, 6.88, 6.1, 4.6
- Methamphetamine, 2.62, 1.4, 1.2
- Ecstasy, 1.9 (2004), 2.6, 1.7
Perceptions of risk from using cigarettes, alcohol, and marijuana fluctuates among Emporia students, depending upon grade level and substance.
A significant majority of students in all four grade levels see cigarette smoking as a “great risk.” Sixth-graders as a group recorded a 74.9 percent belief that smoking poses a great risk. Eighth- and 10th-graders considered cigarette smoking less of a risk than their younger counterparts, recording a great risk percentage in the mid-60s. The great risk percentage rose to 76.8 percent among 12th-graders.
Alcohol presented a “great risk” to only about half of the students, overall. Sixth-graders tallied a 53.3 percent perception of great risk from using alcohol; the perception decreased to 41.3 percent of eighth-graders and 41.9 percent of 10th-graders, then rose again to 48.3 percent for 12th-grade students.
Sixth-grade students see great risk in smoking marijuana — 83.4 percent — compared to 12th-graders’ great risk perception of 54.5 percent.
Overall, Emporia students generally are experimenting less with drugs than statewide averages, and experimentation numbers were lower in 2006 than they were in 1998 for cigarettes, smokeless tobacco, alcohol, and marijuana. Marijuana experimentation was slightly higher than state average. These figures are termed “Lifetime Prevalence Trends” that reflect age and degree of experimentation.
The comparison percentages, presented in the order of 1998, 2006, and state averages, are:
- Cigarettes, 47.06, 29.9, 30.2
- Smokeless tobacco, 23.45, 12.9, 15.4
- Alcohol, 60.69, 48.5, 52.2
- Marijuana, 25.03, 19.1, 18.3
- Inhalants, methamphetamine, and Ecstasy experimentation all were above state averages.
- Inhalants, 18.5, 13.2, 12.6
- Meth, 4.83, 3.9, 2.9
- Ecstasy, 6.2, (2004) 5.3, 4.0
Survey results for methamphetamine and Ecstasy use are noted as “potential areas of concern.” Ecstasy was not included in the survey until 2004.
Broken down by drug category and grade level, the survey produced these results on experimentations with a variety of substances once or twice in a 30-day period. The same format — 1998, 2006 and state average — is used for each category, with the exception of Ecstasy, which is a 2004, 2006, state average comparison.
Cigarette use
- Sixth grade, 30.26, 13.4, 10.5
- Eighth grade, 52.11, 29.6, 26.4
- 10th grade, 59.33, 34, 39
- 12th grade, 70, 48.4, 50
Smokeless tobacco use
- Sixth, 11.99, 2.4, 5.3
- Eighth, 23.27, 12.2, 11.5
- 10th, 36.22, 11.2, 20.6
- 12th, 34.38, 30.8, 27.6
Alcohol use
- Sixth, 40.77, 24.3, 24.2
- Eighth, 67.2, 47.3, 47.3
- 10th, 75.44, 54.8, 66.6
- 12th, 78.79, 77.7, 77.8
Marijuana use
- Sixth, 6.35, 2.5, 2.3
- Eighth, 28.32, 14.3, 11.8
- 10th, 41.38, 24.1, 27
- 12th, 44.12, 45.1, 37.3
Inhaltants use
- Sixth, 16.57, 11.0, 11.1
- Eighth, 22.66, 16.5, 15.3
- 10th, 15.69, 13.7, 13
- 12th, 17.65, 11.5, 10.1
Methamphetamine use
- Sixth, 1.85, 1.10, .6
- Eighth, 4.61, 2.9, 2.0
- 10th, 8.43, 4.5, 4.4
- 12th, 2.95, 8.7, 5.3
Ecstasy use
- Sixth, 1.9, .7, .7
- Eighth, 3.9, 2.5, 2.6
- 10th, 8.3, 8.1, 6.1
- 12th, 11.8, 12.6, 7.2
Binge drinking (five or more alcoholic drinks in a row at least once in the past two weeks)
- Sixth grade, 4.2, 2.5, 2.7
- Eighth grade, 22.02, 10.8, 10.2
- 10th, 33.49,15.2, 34.8
- 12th, 38.71, 30.2, 35.2
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