
RECENTLY . . .
By Valarie Schwartz
After attending a panel discussion on teens and substance abuse hosted by the United Church of Chapel Hill in January, discussions with those who know the teen scene led me to six weeks of collecting data and stories.
My overwhelming finding is that teens appear to be no more out of control than they’ve ever been, but they may be in more danger because of the state of our society.
The panel, which included professionals who work with teens (among them, a drug treatment court manager, an assistant district attorney, a counselor who treats teens with addictions and law-enforcement officers), spoke of the substances teens are using, the higher likelihood of addiction the younger they start and the availability of substances.
According to 2010 statistics from the police departments of Chapel Hill and Carrboro, those aged 16 to 18 were arrested 170 times in Chapel Hill and 69 times in Carrboro (for a wide range of charges). However, there were reports of children – from infants to 18 year olds – being victims of crimes 284 times in Chapel Hill and 103 times in Carrboro.
But Jim Huegerich, crisis human services manager for the Chapel Hill Police Department for the past 37 years, said the statistics are skewed because “teens don’t report. It’s masked as acted-out behavior.†If they did report, we’d see a lot more reports of bullying, much of it generated on the Internet. “A fair amount of people are using social sites to bully,†Huegerich said.
Besides not reporting victimization, not all teens using substances get caught.
Our police departments have done a good job cleaning up the areas once known for street buys, but teens now buy legal drugs – synthetic substances that produce whatever kind of high or mellow they seek.
“Kids are learning how to use different things that aren’t as easily detected,†said Robin Clark of the Community Services Division of the Chapel Hill Police Department. “We’re seeing kids trying to stay on the legal end of things, smoking synthetic stuff … using prescription drugs,†usually taken from a parent’s medicine cabinet.
Legal, by no means, equates to safe. When I spoke to her recently, Clark told of a 20-year-old who had the previous weekend smoked something she thought was called “G.I. Joe,†basically bath salts. “He may never come out of the coma,†she said. According to those who got him to the ER, he only inhaled a couple of puffs.
K-2 and Spice, two popular synthetic forms of marijuana, produce a more intense high, but with high anxiety, a harsh crash and unknown long-term effects.
However, the number one drug of choice hasn’t changed through generations: alcohol.
“Most drink at home when their parents are away – or at home,†said Jesse Dingle, the principal at Chapel Hill High School, of teens who use alcohol.
Because it’s legal for anyone 21 and over, teens feel it must not be that bad for them, but the American Medical Association says that teen brains are still developing and “alcohol can seriously damage long- and short-term growth processes.†The part of the brain that allows risk-taking develops before the part that warns of the dangers.
Even some parents aren’t getting the picture.
What struck me the most was the fact that parents were asking the panel of professionals what to say to their own peers, other adults, about allowing teenage drinking in their homes,†said Jenny Schultz, who organized and led the panel discussion. “The social pressures facing parents today are equally as intense and debilitating as what teens are dealing with. Parents can no longer take for granted the ‘village’ mantra. It takes a village, but the village may or may not be trusted.â€
Teens were represented at the discussion by several members of the Youth Community Project (YCP), a 12-member board of teens working with two adults in conjunction with an adult board called the Teen Support Coalition, endeavoring to start a nonprofit teen-run cafe/cultural center.
“Most kids doing drugs are bored,†said YCP member Gabby Abrams. “There’s a lack of entertainment.â€
“Having fun without having to sneak around is a lot more fun,†said Sam Getka, also a member of YCP.
“We’re looking for a space that’s open but with so much going on that teens can explore and grow; where they can be safe and forward-moving,†said Rachel Valentine, who, along with Michael Irwin, an English teacher at Chapel Hill High, works with the teens.
The pressures put on teens was a recurring theme throughout the panel discussion – besides academic, sports performance and parental pressures, they experience the fallout of whatever the adults in their homes are feeling.
Steve Farmer, dean of admissions at UNC, spoke softly and wisely when he said, “Some parents make college an idol.†He echoed what others had said about how parents sometimes refuse to see that getting help for their teens needs to outweigh their desire for their child to graduate from college four years after earning a high school degree.
Carrboro police Chief Carolyn Hutchinson has two teens of her own, whom she keeps informed. “I ask them, ‘What’s the first thing that goes when you’re drunk?’ They know the answer – judgment.â€
She told me of a recent incident when a high school varsity athlete, the daughter of affluent parents, a teenager with opportunities and advantages, was found unconscious outside The ArtsCenter. She was taken by ambulance to the emergency room with the “water†bottle she had filled with vodka, probably before leaving home.
“This stuff happens all the time,†Hutchinson said. “It’s everybody’s kid.â€
Huegerich insists that we not give up on the village ideal. “It takes resilience and adult role models outside the family,†he said. “That’s what keeps some kids from going down for the third time.â€
Learn more at these local websites: chccoalition.org and teensupportcoalition.org
Reach Valarie Schwartz at 923-2746 or valariekays@mac.com
Amen Valarie!!!!!
Your best line was perhaps the easiest to write; “Even some parents aren’t getting the picture”
Myteensavers has seen that parents are the ones who need the education. We believe that they should be cleaning out the medicine cabinets at home and removing the potential dangers there. Many don’t realize that they are fueling their child’s drug habit!!!
Most importantly we believe that parents should be using home drug test kits on their children. Protecting children is a parent’s responsibility. Many parents are failing!
Keep up the great work!!