Drugs continue to be teen problem

By Leigh Ann Maze

A few eyebrows raised last week when Community Against Substance Abuse president Kim Bidermann and L.D. Hirshklau, director of the Los Gatos-Saratoga High School district's substance abuse prevention programs, talked about teen substance abuse at last week's Rotary Club meeting.

Los Gatos High School students have consistently exceeded the national standards on surveys about substance abuse among high school students, they said. "[Preventing drug abuse] really is a community collaboration. CASA is about raising awareness and making our kids safe by creating a risk-free environment" Hirshklau said.

Surveys taken by CASA in 1993-4 and 1996-7 found drug use at LGHS was more prevalent than the national average. CASA attributes this to the disposable income available to affluent local teens and to the growing number of two-career families, which often results in teens being unsupervised. According to the surveys, alcohol, tobacco and marijuana are LGHS drugs of choice.

"Substance use across the board is going up," Hirshklau said, although since 1998 the rising percentage of LGHS students who smoke has leveled off at 17 percent. "As President Clinton said, cocaine use is going down, but other drugs are taking its place," she said. Hirshklau warns that the latest growing trend is smokable heroin coming from Santa Cruz County.

Noting the numbers on the rise, a Rotarian asked what influence CASA has had. "It's difficult for CASA to tell what influence, if any, we have on the numbers," Bidermann said, "but what would the numbers look like if we weren't here?"

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