Number of Kids Using Drugs in Martinez on the Decline

 A recent survey of students in the Martinez Unified School District revealed that more kids perceive drugs and alcohol in a negative light, and while kids are still experimenting with substances, the number using them on a regular basis is also on the decline.

That is the result of the latest California Healthy Kid Survey, completed by students in the fifth, seventh, ninth and 11-th grade in 2010. The survey asks about drug and alcohol use and perception, and well over 60 percent of the students in each class responded to the survey. California requires all school districts to conduct the survey every two years.

Perhaps the most surprising statistic comes from the fifth grade, where in 2008 40 percent of the students said they had tried alcohol at least once. In the 2010 survey, that number dropped to 29 percent. One percent said they had tried marijuana, and four percent said they had tried cigarettes.

“There has been progress,” said Aaron Tarzian, principal at Las Juntas Elementary and the survey coordinator. “In almost every area, students’ negative perception of drugs and alcohol has increased at each level. The higher the negative perception, the less likely students are to use. This shows that our community and schools are making progress educating youth as to the dangers and risks of use.”

Fifth graders have a negative perception of cigarettes and alcohol – 96 percent see cigarettes as harmful, the same number as 2008. Sixty percent see alcohol as harmful, a one-percent increase from two years ago. However, while 85 percent saw marijuana as harmful in 2008, 65 percent felt that way in 2010.

In terms of safety, only 52 percent of fifth-graders said they feel safe at school all the time. Forty two percent said they had been bullied.

For 11th-graders, the numbers increase. For alcohol, 79 percent of 11th-graders said they had tried it at least once. Fifty three percent said they had tried marijuana. Forty two percent said they had used alcohol in the last 30 days, while 30 percent said they had used marijuana during the past 30 days. Only four percent said they had smoked cigarettes daily over the past 30 days.

Perception of drugs and alcohol use as harmful is high in the secondary grades; over 80 percent of students in the seventh, ninth and eleventh-grade think cigarettes, alcohol and marijuana use has negative health effects.

“One thing that needs to happen is this data needs to be shared with parents, the community, students, and school staff,” Tarzian said. “If each of the stakeholders are aware of the issues that our youth are struggling with, they are more likely to address them in their day-to-day work with our children. Awareness is a very important step in the process of improvement.”