Local high school students and adults concerned about substance abuse in Iowa communities packed their bags and took their concerns to Washington to voice their opinions to Iowa politicians.

A group of five high school students and four adults representing the Youth and Shelter Services and its Story County Teen Task Force flew to Washington for the Community Anti-Drug Coalitions of America Conference, where they joined 2,000 other youth and adults Jan. 20-22.

Students suggested bringing drug dogs into schools and banning smoking at football games.

The group from Story County met with Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, Rep. Tom Latham, R-Iowa, and the staff of Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, to discuss issues the students felt were important to young Iowans.

The group focused on substance abuse, particularly of tobacco, and feeling safe in their schools.

“We’d tell them what we wanted to speak with them about, and then they’d ask questions and we’d fill them in as best we could,” said Evan Rickels, sophomore at Gilbert High School.

Denise Denton, a Youth and Shelter Services prevention specialist and lecturer in health and human performance, specializes in drug education, she said she went on the trip to answer technical questions about drug and alcohol trends and effects.

Julie Hibben, community youth development specialist for Youth and Shelter Services, coordinated most of the trip. She said she likes working with the Teen Task Force because she believes young people can make a difference.

“They’re the ones facing peer pressure and living it day to day in the schools,” Hibben said.

The Teen Task Force meets twice monthly and is involved in the Just Eliminate Lies project to raise awareness of the effects of tobacco use.

Christina Running, a junior at Roland-Story High School, said the conference was the first opportunity she has had to interact with people from across the country.

“You see the points of view of the people who live in your state and then talk to people who live in larger cities and you see a whole different view,” Running said.

Rickels said some photographs of a marijuana user’s brain made a large impact on him. He said a speaker told the Iowa group that doctors said the damage was equal to that of someone who experienced multiple strokes.

The trip was funded through grants, donations and the youth development budget of Youth and Shelter Services.

Denton said the students will also report to the Prevention Policy Board on their experiences.