Program set on drug awareness


By Virginia Ross

Parents must be made accountable for their children’s drug use, a school official said.

NORTH LIMA — Sam Landry, South Range School District’s drug-free-schools coordinator, said overall district students displayed less drug abuse compared to those from other schools, according to results of a substance abuse survey.

But he added that many of the students who reported using substances acknowledged doing so in the presence of a parent — something he stressed needs to be addressed.

As part of an ongoing effort to make the public aware of the situation, Landry will host the program “Positive Choices, Positive Lives” at a town hall meeting from 6 to 8 tonight at Mill Creek MetroParks farm on state Route 46 in Canfield.

Landry, also the high school’s global language teacher, presented state and national survey results at a recent South Range Board of Education meeting.

He said the surveys, which focused primarily on cigarette, alcohol and marijuana use, were conducted among school districts across the country about a year ago.

He said South Range was one of several local school districts to participate.

“Substance abuse is something to be worried about anyway, especially among our youth,” Landry said. “But realizing the role adults play in this is alarming and something we really need to look at. We really need to look at holding adults accountable for this.”

He said one way to do this is by enacting legislation that would make adults responsible for the illegal use of substances by minors.

He explained his organization, Coalition for Capable

and Healthy Youth, along with the Mahoning Valley Police Chiefs’ Association and the Ohio Department of Public Safety, are working together in response to the survey results and to address the adult involvement in substance abuse among youth.

Meanwhile, at tonight’s meeting, parents, teachers, officials, youth and other community members will learn more about the impact that underage drinking has on the community and look at possible ways to address this issue.

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