Interest in alcohol, pot declining among Lake County youths

Fewer Lake County students in middle and high schools are using alcohol, marijuana, inhalants and cigarettes, according to a survey released this week.

More than 20,000 students in Lake County participated in the Illinois Youth Survey that was sponsored by the state's department of human services. Officials said student response to the 2008 report tripled what was received in 2006.

Survey results showed the following:

•High school pupils' alcohol use over a 30-day period dropped from 47 percent in 2006 to 40 percent in 2008, with cigarette smoking going from 19 percent to 13 percent. Marijuana use went from 22 percent to 20 percent.

•Middle school students' 30-day use rates for alcohol went from 19 percent in 2006 to 13 percent in 2008, with cigarette smoking dipping from 5 percent to 3 percent. Inhalant use went from 9 percent in 2006 to 7 percent in 2008.

Stephanie Elsass, a substance abuse prevention coordinator at Stevenson High School in Lincolnshire, said many factors may have contributed to the decline in alcohol, tobacco, marijuana and inhalant use.

Elsass said a variety of groups, such as the Lake County Underage Drinking Prevention Task Force, have had a positive effect on youths.

"I think it has a lot to do with getting the message out," Elsass said Thursday.

At Stevenson, said Elsass, Operation Snowball also has been a positive influence on students. Operation Snowball is a program that provides teenagers with one weekend in the fall and spring to be in a large group to watch motivational speakers, relieve stress and try to gain a better understanding of themselves and others.

Kristine Andersen of the Lake County Health Department said alcohol remains the substance most used by youths. Andersen is the department's alcohol, tobacco and drug prevention coordinator.

In the survey, 62 percent of high school students responded they don't believe their parents would catch them if they consumed alcohol. Moreover, 22 percent of the high-schoolers claimed they do not have clear rules about drug or alcohol use from their parents.