Poway Student Survey Indicates ‘Significant’ Alcohol Problem

Poway school officials have long applauded their students for exemplary performance in the classroom, looking to test scores and national awards as measures.

But those same officials have been frustrated by an unknown: How rampant is the use of alcohol and drugs by their students? Last May, they surveyed their students for the first time to find out.

The results were released Monday night to trustees of the Poway Unified School District. Poway students, it was found, generally reflected their peers in San Diego County and the nation in terms of alcohol and drug use, with liquor the most serious of the problems.

More than half of all Poway high school seniors said they got intoxicated on alcohol at least once during the 30 days before the survey, the study found.

Marijuana was the most popular of the non-alcoholic drugs, but still had an incidence less than half that of liquor.

‘Significant Alcohol Problem’

“We feel we have a significant alcohol usage problem, and it gets more significant as the kids become older,” said Mike Fickel, pupil personnel director for the 22,000-student district.

Nearly 10% of all sixth-graders said they had become intoxicated on alcohol during the month before the May survey. The percentage increased to 12% among seventh-graders, 22% for eighth-graders, 27% for ninth-graders, 42% for 10th-graders, 50% for 11th-graders and 57% for seniors, Fickel said.

There are 1,000 to 1,300 students in each grade level, Fickel said, meaning that about 100 sixth-graders said they got “high” or “a buzz” on alcohol at least once a month, contrasted with about 600 high school seniors.

A 1987 nationwide sampling by the National Institute on Drug Abuse reported that 62% of the high school seniors it surveyed reported being intoxicated on liquor at least once during the month before being surveyed--or about 5% higher than the Poway finding.

Results Showed Increase

A recent countywide sampling of 3,484 seventh-, 10th- and 12th-graders, conducted by the county Office of Education, the San Diego Unified School District and the county Department of Drug Abuse Services, showed that 66% of the students said they had consumed alcohol at least once in the month before the survey. That question, however, dealt only with the use of alcohol and did not ask whether they felt they were intoxicated. The results were an increase from a 1985 survey, in which 61% of the students responded that they had consumed liquor at least once during the survey month.

Among those Poway students who said they got “high” on marijuana at least once during the survey month were 1% of the sixth-, 2.5% of the seventh-, 4.5% of the eighth-, 9% of the ninth-, 17% of the 10th-, 19% of the 11th- and 22% of the 12th-graders.

The 1987 NIDA study showed, by contrast, that 21% of 12th-graders sampled nationwide reported that they got high on marijuana during its survey month.

The county survey showed that 15% of the students surveyed from the three grade levels reported that they used marijuana during the survey month, a decrease from 20% in 1985.

The percentage of Poway students who said they used stimulants, including crystal methamphetamines, during the survey month ranged from 1% in the sixth grade to 11% in the 12th grade.

By contrast, the national survey indicated that 5.2% of the 12th-graders nationally had used stimulants. Fickel speculated that the Poway use of stimulants, especially crystal methamphetamine, was double the national figure because of the greater availability of the artificial drug in San Diego County.

Still, the Poway figure was slightly less than the countywide survey results, which indicated that 15% of the 12th-grade students it questioned used stimulants at least once a month.

Poway students’ use of cocaine ranged from 0.5% among sixth-graders to 4% of high school seniors, the survey showed.

Use of hallucinogens, including LSD and mescaline, among Poway students ranged from 0.25% among sixth-graders to 2.9% at the 12th grade. Use of depressants ranged from 0.6% among sixth-graders to 2.1% in the 12th grade. And the use of inhalants such as glue, paint and gasoline ranged from a high of 8.5% among sixth-graders to a low of 2.1% in 12th grade.

The survey was the first of its type conducted by the Poway Unified School District, Fickel said, and will be used as a benchmark to study drug and alcohol use by its students.

“If we have a conclusion, it is that yes, we do have kids using alcohol and some drugs, and we will continue our efforts in the education of drug and alcohol abuse, but that the people who need to be a part of the solution include the community and parents at home,” Fickel said.