ARE YOUR KIDS TURNING ON?

PARENTS can be so naive. Today’s children, they seem to think, are preppies, not druggies. They like cheerleading and sports and student council, not dope and coke and Quaaludes. The drug culture went out with love beads and long hair. We’re in the Eighties now, where conservatism reigns and life is normal again. Right?

Well, Mom and Dad, we have some good news and some bad news. The good news first: Marijuana use among teenagers has slightly decreased in the past few years. Now for the bad news: The use of all other major drugs has skyrocketed. What’s worse, 10 years ago, students began experimenting with drugs in the eighth or ninth grade. Today, experimentation begins in the fourth or fifth grade. Roach clips (devices used to hold marijuana cigarettes) shaped like Miss Piggy are hot items now, as are cocaine vials shaped like rocket ships. And “Freak Brothers” comic books, featuring the antics of two dope-heads, are all the rage.

Sorne people believe that drugs and teen-agers have had an on-again, off-again love affair during the past two decades. On the contrary, the passion has become increasingly heated and the relationship more sophisticated. As one high school teacher puts it, the main difference between then – the Sixties and Seventies – and now is that drugs used to be a symbol of rebellion; now they’re an established form of recreation.

Years ago, teen-age drug users were easy to spot; schools basically were divided into two main peer groups: the “freaks” and the “jocks.” If your child was in the latter group, you were safe. Today, drug use is straight across the board. And despite statistics, “Just about everybody uses marijuana,” one student says.

According to a survey taken in the Tyler School System (released in September), two out of every 10 high school students use drugs on a regular basis, and five out of 10 use alcohol regularly. Seventy-five percent of the regular drug users maintain a C or above grade average, and the highest number of regular drug users live in two-parent homes. “I know two druggies with 4.0 [grade averages],” one student says.

There are several theories on what kind of teen-ager uses drugs. Lt. David M. Davis, commander of the Drug Abuse section of the Dallas Police Department, says his theory is that students who are from wealthy families and who don’t have part-time jobs depend solely on their parents to give them spending money. These parents, therefore, can keep close reins on the student’s spending. Those with part-time jobs, he says, are often the drug abusers because parents have no control over their spending. But several students disagreed with this theory. “I know one kid who gets $100 a week,” a student says. “That’s more than your average lunch money.” Another student says that an average bag of marijuana (enough to make about 12 joints) costs about $10-a mere pittance to most high school students.

One sophomore girl says that drug users are usually the “cool” people in school, the outspoken, self-assured “leader types.” They are football players, cheerleaders and class clowns. “By being those types of people,” she says, “they know that their parents think they won’t use drugs-their kids are perfect in their eyes.”

Not only are all kinds of students using drugs, all kinds of drugs are being used. Alcohol still reigns as the most highly used drug, followed closely by marijuana. But those two drugs only scratch the surface. In a recent survey conducted in a local high school, one-third of the students were involved “extensively” in drugs. The only major drug that wasn’t used was heroin. Marijuana, cocaine, speed, LSD, amphetamines and tranquilizers were all listed. According to Bill Hubbert, director of the Dallas region of Palmer Drug Abuse Program (PDAP), a nonprofit organization based in Dallas, students are mixing drugs more and more. Marijuana is to cocaine what beer is to champagne: Cocaine is saved for special occasions, while marijuana use is a favorite pastime. Other drugs are used as they’re available.

Different students seem to prefer different drugs. Because of its high price, cocaine is most often used by wealthy students. One student from a North Dallas high school says that speed is a favorite among athletes. “At some schools, amateur athletics are just for fun,” he says, “but at other schools, it’s really big. Winning is important. They [the students] will do anything to up their chances to win.” Some of the best athletes, he says, are the biggest users. Superior performance is expected – by parents and by peers.

Those two groups, in fact – parents and peers – have the most impact on drug use. Discipline in the schools is already about as strict as it can get. In most area schools, if a student is caught with drugs or is said to be under the influence of drugs, he is automatically suspended. In some private schools, one offense means expulsion.

Most schools also have drug education programs. But experts agree that the school isn’t the ideal place for drug prevention; the home is. Robert DuPont, president of the American Council on Marijuana, says that a you-do-your-thing-and-I’ll-do-mine relationship between parents and children won’t work. The home should not be a democratic organization – parents should lay ground rules and stick to them. He says that parents have drawn back their control over their children during the past 15 years.

Hubbert says that the current generation of students is hit with a double wham-my: Not only are many parents overlooking the drug culture, many parents who grew up during the Sixties are still using drugs. Parental drug use in front of children “can’t be rare now, considering the age of most users,” he says. And not only are the users’ children harmed, but so are the peers of these children.

Another problem that’s more widespread is the use and abuse of alcohol in front of children. According to Hubbert, children of parents with a drinking problem (not necessarily alcoholics) have a 50 percent greater chance of having a drug problem than other teens. And the results aren’t limited to alcohol; often, he says, alcohol makes these children sick or the taste doesn’t appeal to them, so they turn to marijuana or other drugs.

To combat drug use, many parents’ peer groups are forming in the Dallas area. These organizations are designed to provide consistency with discipline and drug education. Often these groups set curfews together.

The greatest relief from peer pressure, many people believe, is the excuse that “my parents will kill me if I come home drunk or stoned.” If parents provide backup, peer pressure is easier to cope with.

“More kids do drugs now because it’spushed more now, it’s more accepted andparents don’t know it,” a sophomore girlsays. “You just do it because you feeleverybody else is.”