Swampscott offers workshop to educate parents on dangers of drugs, alcohol

SWAMPSCOTT-After a rash of underage drinking incidents in town, school officials are reaching out to parents.The superintendent’s drug & alcohol roundtable is bringing a program entitled “Double Jeopardy: Alcohol, Drugs and Our Teens” to Swampscott High School Jan. 31 at 7:30 p.m.In September more than 11 Swampscott High School athletes were suspended from competition for using alcohol and/or drugs including a captain of the girl’s soccer team. In December the Big Blue Football team won the EMass Division 3 Super Bowl and a party to celebrate the win resulted in at least one football player being suspended from competition for alcohol use.Mary Foresta, 163 Puritan Ave., was charged under the social host responsibility law for providing alcohol to minors and three juveniles were summoned to court in connection with that incident.Superintendent Matthew Malone said a core component of Swampscott’s drug and alcohol prevention strategy is providing information to parents.?I think we can all agree that the issues that have occurred over the past years involving our kids, drugs and alcohol are unacceptable,” he said. “As a school district we will not look the other way. We are taking a two-prong approach to the issue, preventative and punitive. This workshop is on the preventative side.”Burlington Drug & Alcohol Task Force co-chairwoman and drug recognition specialist Marilyn Belmonte is leading the two-hour program.?Parents have more power than they realize to prevent drug and alcohol abuse,” she said. “This program will empower parents with the knowledge they need to protect their children, no matter how old they are. The presentations will include how to talk to our kids about drugs and alcohol, how to reduce the risk of prescription drug abuse and resources for parents.”The free workshop, open to adults only, will include comprehensive information on recognition of drugs, drug paraphernalia, eye clues, physical symptoms and behavioral signs of drug abuse.According to organizers, “Double Jeopardy: Alcohol, Drugs and Our Teens” examines how drugs such as heroin and marijuana have changed over the past few decades, the effect of alcohol on the adolescent brain, social host liability law and strategies to reduce substance abuse.Malone said the purpose of the presentation is to educate adults to recognize the early signs of drug and alcohol abuse.Belmonte said the workshop would help parents sharpen their communication skills in parent-teen interactions. She pointed out a new study shows that most parents claim to have difficulty talking to their teens about drug and alcohol use. She said the workshop would give parents the education necessary to discuss drugs with their teens confidently.