for Children and Youth - Ventura County Star

8 Creating Asset Rich Environments for Children and Youth
Marijuana use
among young
people in Ventura
County
is above the
state average.
Did you know?
Almost 1 in 5 students in Ventura County reported that they used prescription painkillers “to
get high” four or more times in their life (California Healthy Kids Survey, 2005-06).
Dr. Jeff Robinson is seeing the consequences of prescription drug abuse firsthand in Ventura
County Medical Center’s emergency room. “More kids are coming in the ER in the last two
years than I’ve ever seen in the 20 years I’ve worked here,” Robinson told the Ventura County
Star in an April 13, 2007 article. Deaths from prescription drug overdose are “one of the terrible,
tragic outcomes of kids taking this stuff” (Foxman, 2007).
Be Part of the Call to Action
We now know that children and youth who do well in school are less likely to engage
in destructive behaviors like smoking, drinking alcohol, or taking drugs. We also know that
many of our youth obtain these substances from adults.
But which comes first: alcohol and drug use, or school failure? A study by the Social Research
Institute at the University of Michigan provides an answer. Patterns of educational success
or failure are well established for children and youth by the time they reach 8th grade
(Bachman, O’Malley, et al., 2007). School failure tends to come early in the sequence of problem
behaviors. “In general, substance use appears to be largely a symptom, rather than a
cause, of poor academic adjustment…” (Serwach & Johnson, 2007, pp. 3). Alcohol use and occasional
heavy use including binge drinking emerges among children and youth as early as
elementary school (California Healthy Kids Survey, 2004, 2006; Bachman, et al., 2007). “Whatever
can be done to improve the educational successes of children and adolescents will have
a very valuable benefit – reducing their substance use” (Serwach & Johnson, 2007, pp. 3).