STAND - Story Archive

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Event Planning Committee

Tuesday March 29th

5:00PM - 6:30PM

El Rey's Mexican Restaraunt

RSVP at (423) 223-5492 by 5:00PM Monday, March 28th if you plan to attend.

CADPAC Meeting

Thursday April 21st

12:00PM - 1:00PM

STAND Conference Room

Community Coalition Meeting

Thursday April 28th

6:00PM - 8:30PM

Oneida Middle School Cafeteria

Open to the Public

Featured Story

Marijuana Use on the Rise Among Local Students

STAND has been tracking drug test results since it began the program in 2001. Over that time period marijuana has shown a steady decline in use among middle and high school students. That is until this year. Marijuana has shown an explosive rate of growth over last year, jumping nearly 1,000%.

“Most of the drug related cases we see among adults still involve prescription drugs. We are not seeing a significant rise in marijuana cases,” said Jerry Wilson, probation officer for the Scott County sessions court

The rise in marijuana use appears to be isolated among high school students. Kevin Byrd, principal of Oneida High School, offered his take on the growing rate among high school students. “I think there are several possible reasons behind the rise. The relatively low cost of marijuana appeals to those seeking to get high. Further, I think law-enforcement has had to focus a lot of attention on meth and prescription drugs, making marijuana use a less risky proposition among our youth.”

Marijuana, as Tennessee’s number one cash crop, exceeds the value of the other 9 crops in the top 10 combined. This, combined with the remoteness of certain areas in the county makes marijuana access difficult to control. “I think we can do things to reduce its use, but we are going to have a very hard time eliminating it completely. That would require the entire community strongly focused on that one goal,” stated STAND Coordinator, Dale Owens. “There are things we can do right now, but in order to see meaningful reductions we are going to have to get everyone working together,” he said.

Parents can be proactive in preventing their teens from experimenting with drugs. STAND has billboards up along Hwy 27 giving some simple advice for parents.