Drug Violations Spike In Pikes Peak Region Middle Schools, Analysis Shows

By DEBBIE KELLEY debbie.kelley@gazette.com -The gangly, pimply, emotionally-charged middle school years are gaining a more concerning reputation in Colorado. Early adolescence is increasingly becoming a time of drug experimentation. A Rocky Mountain PBS I-News analysis of Colorado Department of Education data found that drug policy violations increased 24 percent in the state's middle schools in the 2013-2014 school year, leading to a decade-high of 951 drug-related incidents. Violations at Pikes Peak region middle schools spiked nearly twice that, according to a Gazette analysis, increasing 43 percent last school year over the previous year.