Finding illegal drugs can just be a click away these days for tech-saavy teenagers, according to Tena Youngberg, a Youth Eastside Services (YES) drug and alcohol counselor at Redmond High School (RHS).

“Kids get on Facebook and advertise parties they are having. Because of technology, it’s gotten easier” for teens to find ways to get a hold of harmful, illicit drugs, she said.

“The most important thing parents can do is set healthy boundaries and hold their kids accountable,” said Youngberg, a chemical dependency professional and national certified addiction counselor. “Kids can get any drug they want, anywhere.”

At least 13 teens face felony drug charges following an ongoing undercover operation involving a police officer posing as a student at RHS.

The nearly seven-month-long undercover investigation resulted in 11 arrests at RHS in February and found students involved with a variety of drugs, including heroine, cocaine and oxycontin.

The drug bust has created a huge wake-up call for students and community members, according to school and city leaders.

The King County Prosecutor’s Office filed charges last Wednesday against the teenagers associated with the RHS drug probe and arraignment is set for Nov. 17 in juvenile court, according to Dan Donohoe, spokesperson for the prosecutor’s office. More suspects who are 18 or older could be charged, Donohoe said.

The 13 charged teens face detention time anywhere from 30 days-36 weeks, “depending on how many charges each is facing and criminal history,” Donohoe said. The Redmond Reporter does not release names of people charged in juvenile court.

The arrested students from February’s drug bust were suspended for the rest of the semester last spring, according to Lake Washington School District (LWSD) communication director Kathryn Reith.

“Students who were not seniors have returned to school, most returning to Redmond High while a few made the choice to continue at different schools,” Reith said.

It’s the third time in the last 12-15 years that RHS has participated in an illegal drug probe by police, Reith said.

SENDING A MESSAGE

RHS principal Jane Todd said she knew the undercover drug probe would eventually create negative publicity once the arrests were made and charges filed, but she wanted to send a strong message to students that illegal drugs at school — or anywhere for that matter — were absolutely not acceptable.

“We have great kids of all kinds at Redmond High School,” she said. “Like in any other community, some kids make bad decisions and get involved with drugs. In Redmond, we made a choice to take action. This situation has given us an opportunity to have some great conversations with staff, students and parents about how we can make the six and half hours a day that students are in school a safe and positive — and drug-free — space.”

Youngberg said RHS doesn’t have any more of a drug problem than other schools around the district, state and nation.

While undercover operations can help stem drug problems in schools, the solution to the problem should start at home, Youngberg said.

“I think parents need to be on board to what’s going on in their kids’ lives,” she said. “This is a community issue. It’s throughout their lives they are using (drugs), not just the school setting. … Parents need to educate themselves about the symptoms of drug use and then hold their kids accountable.”

Youngberg does her part, trying to educate the RHS community about illegal drug use. Every week, she sends a drug fact to staff members to share with students. She has a wealth of information about new drug trends and the dangers they pose. And most importantly, she provides confidential, one-on-one counseling for students.

EFFECTIVE UNDERCOVER OPERATION

The undercover drug probe at RHS featured a young-looking Redmond police detective, who enrolled as a senior in August of 2009 and bought drugs from several students. The detective claimed she was new to the area, a transfer to RHS from California. She attended classes and ate lunch with students while developing drug connections with several teens.

The detective “was directed to identify suspect(s) involved in the possession, use and distribution of illegal narcotics in and around the high school,” according to charging documents.

The detective was able to purchase a variety of illegal drugs, including marijuana, cocaine, black tar heroin, ecstasy and oxycontin pills inside and near Redmond High School and other teen hangouts, like the Redmond Skate Park, according to the charging documents. Other drug deals occurred in the RHS parking lot, the parking lot of nearby Redmond Junior High, the RHS cafeteria and parking lots of Redmond and Kirkland businesses.

In October of 2009, the court papers said that the undercover detective bought black tar heroin on two separate occasions from a 16-year-old student. The undercover detective also met a student who said she could “hook her up with anything that she needed,” during a meeting in the back of the RHS cafeteria, according to charging papers, which went on to say that the same student later set up deals for cocaine and ecstasy for the undercover detective.

In December, the undercover detective met a then 16-year-old boy who was described as an “ecstasy pill supplier,” in court documents. She met with the boy at a Kirkland apartment and bought three “blue pills,” which tested to be ecstasy, according to charging papers. The undercover detective met the ecstasy pill supplier through a then 16-year-old girl in a drama class. The girl told the undercover detective that she previously sold narcotics at RHS and knew how to get a hold of some ecstasy.

In January, the detective bought cocaine and several ecstasy pills from a 17-year-old student, who was arrested in a Redmond grocery store on the way to meeting the detective for a drug deal near the produce aisle, according to the charging papers. When she was arrested, she admitted to police to having the cocaine inside of her jacket.

Youngberg said RHS and the Redmond Police Department should be commended for their efforts.

“They took a real proactive stance,” she said. “They made it clear this is unacceptable and now they are holding the kids accountable.”