ST. CLAIRSVILLE — Belmont County Common Pleas Juvenile Division Judge Al Davies works to keep youths out of his courtroom by encouraging them to enjoy a drug-free lifestyle.

On top of his daily responsibilities to the juvenile and probate courts, he is now the driving force behind the Belmont County Schools Staying Clean Club — a nonprofit program that discourages illegal drug use among students in middle and high school.

The program was created by retired Martins Ferry chief of police John McFarland.

According to its website, “BCSSC promotes random drug testing for youth in middle and high schools that join the program enabling participants to have an excuse from peer pressure and the ability to promote their drug-free lifestyle. Testing days are completed randomly for each school with youth unaware of testing dates. The goals are to promote abstinence from drug usage and provide education on substance abuse while promoting healthy lifestyles.”

Davies said the organization originally was part of a larger, nationwide organization called Drug Free Court of America, but it branched off to become its own organization to better allocate funds in Belmont County.

“Over the years, we’ve tried to raise more funds so that we can offer more programming, and we’ve done that,” Davies said. It’s a great program for us, and we see the results because the drug cases have really decreased over the years.”

He added that although he still sees drug cases in juvenile court, the volume of those cases doesn’t merit a court dedicated solely to juvenile drug offenders.

He credits the Staying Clean Club for that.

“I attribute a lot of that success to the Belmont County Schools Staying Clean Club,” he said. “The speakers that we are able to present to the kids through funds raised through our great partners in the community, charitable donations from the American Legion, the Moose Lodge, and the Classy Chassis Car Club that puts on a car show every year we’ve been able to raise a lot of money for the kids. Every year now for the past four or five years, we’ve been able to contract with leading, nationally recognized school speakers that speak on the issues of drugs, alcohol, trauma and mental health issues.”

Davies said he plans to work in a section about vaping in his program, because he believes vaping is a massive issue that isn’t being addressed within the community.

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, “In 2024, e-cigarettes were the most commonly used tobacco product among middle and high school students in the United States.”

Davies said a huge goal for the organization is to connect with nationally recognized speakers who can address the widespread vaping among high school students.

“It’s not as bad as it used to be, but there are still some folks out there, parents included, who think vaping is a healthy alternative to smoking cigarettes,” he said. “The evidence shows that if you vape, you’re much more likely to develop smoking cigarettes as an adult. There are a lot of studies out there that talk about, you know, nicotine is one of the most highly addictive drugs that we have.”

He said the Staying Clean Club hosts classes to inform students about the dangers of vaping, operating in conjunction with the Belmont County Ohio State University Extension Service.

If a student gets caught and charged with vaping, which is underage consumption of tobacco, Davies said he will either send them to a Nicotine 101 class, fine them, take away their driver’s license or require them to do community service.

Throughout the year, Davies travels to schools across the county and hosts mock trials. Following those proceedings, he gives speeches about the seriousness of vaping.

“Two of the most addictive drugs that we have are nicotine and fentanyl, and they have something in common. They’re both going to kill you. You know, fentanyl, unfortunately, tends to kill folks at a young age. They take too much, they overdose and die. You know, you start vaping, you start smoking, you might live for a while, but it’s not necessarily going to be a healthy life given the evidence we have about smoking causing lung problems, heart problems, and other issues. And it’s just mind-boggling to me that it’s hazardous waste that’s being inhaled by these kids through these products,” Davies said. “And the companies, you know, the cigarette companies, love vaping. They love it because they know it’s going to lead to smoking, and all these companies that are selling vapes and stuff.

“They don’t care about these kids and families. They want them to get addicted so they keep coming back.”