This is Part I of a two-part story on the problem of drug use among Malibu’s youth. Part II will discuss the various programs and local attempts to thwart drug use amongst Malibu’ youth. (Editor’s note: Several quotes by Malibu parent Sandy Helberg in a previous version of this story were mistakenly attributed to Sandy Thacker. They have been corrected.)
By Olivia Damavandi / Staff Writer
Numerous parents of Malibu High School have responded to a letter published in The Malibu Times last week that alleged teenage drug use and drug dealing on the school’s campus. Some blame the school for insufficient security and wishy-washy adherence to a no-tolerance drug policy, and others say parents are at fault for their lack of involvement, but all community members are seeking ways to put an end to what many are calling a “serious drug epidemic” at Malibu High.
In the Dec. 31 letter, residents Sandy and Harriet Helberg said the problem has resulted from a combination of poor prioritization and fund allocation by the city, denial by parents and school administrators that a drug contagion actually exists, and a lack of resources, disciplinary action and interest to prevent and deal with drug use.
The Helbergs claim in their letter that students share pot brownies during lunch, and buy and sell drugs on the Malibu High School campus “as if it were an open market.” Though they wrote they least expected it, their own child “is in deep” and that many Malibu youths are in the same position.
In a phone interview Tuesday, Sandy Helberg said he was called to the school around late November 2008 about a situation involving his son.
“One day I went there [to Malibu High School] because there was an issue with my son, and [when he arrived on campus] there were seven kids being arrested in one day,” Helberg said.
Helberg said the students were arrested for possession of marijuana and Xanax, and for smoking on campus.
“It becomes very high tech, the kids text each other, ‘I’ll meet you in front of science class,’ [to obtain drugs],” Helberg said.
One former Malibu High School student, who wished to remain anonymous, attended Malibu High School from sixth to halfway through ninth grade, when he decided to go to boarding school overseas, though not because of drugs on campus. He said it is no different today than it was 10 years ago, when drugs were just as prevalent on campus. He said he received drug education during seventh grade. Though he attributed the city’s geographic isolation to the heightened drug use, he said the lack of parental responsibility is the biggest problem.
“Parents don’t talk to their kids about drugs,” the former student, who graduated high school in 2003, said. I blame Malibu’s parents and environment, not Malibu High School. It’s a fine school.
“If your kids are using drugs, you’re not supervising them,” he continued. “That’s your job as a parent until they’re 18. If the school could focus on education and not the parents’ responsibilities, stuff would get done. There’s only so much a school can do. They’re worried about drugs when they should be worried about having enough teachers.”
Malibu High School PTSA President Sandy Thacker agrees. In a letter sent to The Malibu Times this week, Thacker, a parent of two students, wrote, “Malibu High School is not a law enforcement agency, a correctional facility or a rehab center. It is a school charged with giving our kids a first-rate education…the job of prevention, intervention and responsibility begins at home.”
Drug use a community issue
Five-year Malibu High School Principal Mark Kelly, who said in an interview Friday that he has busted students in the past for selling marijuana on campus, said the drug use extends beyond the school’s campus and is a community issue.
“I think that this is a community problem,” Kelly reiterated. “It’s not all happening at school; it’s happening Saturday nights and Friday afternoons when your kids are hanging out. We want kids to be well and healthy. It’s not all about punishment and consequences, it’s about helping kids in need or in crisis.”
Kelly said the school’s policy for handling on-campus drug offenses was changed five years ago by the Board of Education after many Malibu parents advocated for more leniency on the policy’s consequences.
He said the original consequences for a student caught in violation of the controlled substance policy included an involuntary transfer to another school within the same district for 10 weeks or the remainder of the semester (whichever was longer), a five-day suspension, police contact, 24 hours of counseling (12 of which must include parents) and 40 hours of community service.
In response to Malibu parents, the board nullified the requirement for an involuntary transfer, allowing all students caught in violation of the controlled substance policy to remain enrolled at Malibu High School.
The second offense, Kelly said, includes an automatic recommendation for expulsion. “I, as the principal, recommend the school district to expel the student, but they make the final choice,” he said.
Laura Rosenthal, a psychologist and Malibu High School parent, was one parent who advocated against involuntary transfers.
“[Malibu parents] wanted leniency because what would happen is the kids would be transferred to [Santa Monica High] and they were taken away from any support group they might have had and put into a foreign environment,” Rosenthal said. “They would just go find the same group of kids at Samohi that do drugs.”
Kelly expressed frustration at the school’s protocol for targeting and catching students who may be using or distributing drugs on campus because, he said, it relies on community involvement. The problem, Kelly said, lies not with the protocol, but with people’s reluctance to get involved and give the school information.
Kelly explained the protocol begins with a tip off about a possible drug offense from an anonymous source, a parent or student.
“We take it [the tip off] at face value,” Kelly said. “We then bring in and question the student. Depending on nature of the issue and if there’s reasonable suspicion, we search the student’s belongings; backpack, car, pockets, and lockers.
“If we find something we implement the school district’s controlled substance policy,” Kelly continued. “If we don’t find anything, that starts a conversation with the student. We contact the parents and tell them what happened that particular day. Parents are appreciative for the phone calls.”
However, Kelly said some people are reluctant to share information, which impedes the school’s efforts in following through.
When we have information, we follow up on it,” Kelly said. “It’s the best thing we can do. We’ve had a lot of success stories.”
Look for Part II of “Malibu youth drug use” next week.