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Health & Fitness

Portsmouth School Drug Survey Discussed on Latest Edition of PTW

Drug Survey Shows Significant Alcohol and Marijuana use by Portsmouth Middle and High School Students

I had an opportunity to discuss the recent youth Drug Survey with Portsmouth resident Ray Davis, the Portsmouth Prevention Coalition Coordinator, and School Committee Chairman Dave Croston, this week in a special edition of Portsmouth this Week. The results of this in-depth look into the use of drugs and alcohol by Portsmouth school students are quite sobering, indicating that, like many other coimmunities, Portsmouth has a serious drug and alcohol problem. This survey is a snap shot of student use and attitudes towards the use of alcohol and marijuana and will be used in developing a strategic plan to address this problem that will involved the entire community, including parents, educators and students themselves. 

The survey data shows that while cigarette use among high school students is fairly low (8%) because of perceived health risks associated with smoking, 65% of high school seniors used alcohol and 49% used marijuana within the past 30 days. An amazing 70% of high school seniors saw no harm from smoking marijuana on a daily basis. Watch the show for a general discussion of the survey results and some thoughts on what some of the next steps in addressing this community-wide issue might be. We hope to have some additional shows focued on this problem and proposed solutions to it.

Details on the study itself can be found at www.portsmouthri.com , and www.portsmouthschoolsri.net . Contact Ray Davis himself for a copy of the study details at rdavisprevention@cox.net 

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Portsmouth this Week is a weekly public service television program started by Town Administrator, John Klimm. It airs on Public television (Cox channel 18) on Wednesday evenings at 7:30 PM. It can also be seen by clicking on the video box above or from links on the Portsmouth Town website www.portsmouthri.com and the Portsmouth Economic development Committee website www.portsmouthriedc.com

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