Drug Awareness Resistance Education graduation held at Joseph Davies School; parents and staff told drug overdoses and fatalities are dropping; Sheriff tells 5th-graders their choices will affect the rest of their lives

The sheriff and other officers shake hands with D.A.R.E. graduates as certificates are given out.

Daren the Lion, mascot of the national D.A.R.E. program,, portrayed by Cpl. Jessica Gernados.

Drug overdoses and fatalities in St. Bernard Parish dropped roughly 50 percent in the past two years, sheriff’s officials told parents, teachers and students at Joseph Davies School at the graduation of 100 fifth-graders from the sheriff’s Drug Awareness Resistance Education program on May 14.

The number of ODs in St. Bernard dropped from 90, with 20 fatalities, in 2010 to 50 overdoses, with nine fatalities, in 2012.

That’s the good news but the fight against illegal drug use has a long way to go and Sheriff James Pohlmann told D.A.R.E. graduates their choices of friends and decisions on how to conduct themselves, including whether to use alcohol or drugs, will affect the rest of their lives.

“Parents need to stay involved’’ with their children, including talking with them often and looking for signs they are getting into things that will hurt them, Sheriff Pohlmann said. Parents can help them avoid the peer pressure to get involved with drugs, alcohol or violence, he said.

If necessary, drug test kits available at pharmacies can be used at home to test young people, the sheriff told parents. If their children are on drugs, parents should look for treatment options to get to the problem, he said.

“Don’t wait until it is too late,’’ to make a difference for a young person who has stumbled, the sheriff told parents. “Learn the warning signs of drug use,’’ in young people, he said, including:

– Loss of interest in things they used to do such as sports or reading.
– Hanging around with new groups of friends unknown to parents.
– Sudden attitude or mood swings.
– Sudden problems at school and their grades.

For everyone, life is about the choices they make, he said. The D.A.R.E. program, given by St. Bernard by program commander Lt. Lisa Jackson and Sgt. Darrin Miller, helps guide children to be thinking about making the right choice, he said.

“We have many people in our jail who made a bad choice’’ when they decided to commit a criminal act.

Maj. Chad Clark, commander of Special Investigations including the Narcotics Unit, said it takes the kind of education effort given by Sheriff’s Office drug resistance instructors at parish schools to affect the drug problem in America. “You have received the tools you need’’ from the D.A.R.E. instructors.

The 10 overdose deaths in St. Bernard last year is still not good enough but it shows improvement, he said.

The drop could be attributable to a number of reasons, Clark said, including enforcement of drug laws but also a new statewide prescription monitoring board the Sheriff’s Office pushed for to try to stop the illegal practice of going from doctor to doctor trying to collect prescription medications.

He said parents can call the SID Division at (504) 271-DOPE to make an appointment to discuss a particular problem involving their children and drugs.

Taking part in the D.A.R.E. graduation from the Sheriff’s Office besides Sheriff Pohlmann, Maj. Clark, Lt. Jackson and Sgt. Miller were Capt. Ronnie Martin and Lt. Richard Jackson, Cpl. Jessica Gernados – who appeared in costume as Daren the Lion, mascot of the national D.A.R.E. program – and Agent Daniel Bostic, all of the SID Division.