SUBSTANCE ABUSE

If there is one thing to remember about drug use, it's that everyone is
susceptible.

Russ Hall, a counsellor at Abbotsford Senior Secondary, works every day
with Grade 10-12 students.

"It can happen to anybody," he says. "I wouldn't say that any one group
should be stereotyped. There are examples of good and bad in poor, rich and
middle class families, where the parents do care or don't care."

But although drug abuse is a serious problem, he says, alcohol may be worse.

"We deal with the students here on a one-on-one basis. Drugs and alcohol is
probably not a major part of what we do, but we do come across it."

"By far, alcohol is the most abused drug among teens," he says.

Whether they notice a slip in grades, disinterest in activities or poor
attendance on the part of a student, or a student is found on school
grounds under the influence, the policies today are different than they
were twenty years ago.

Would they confront a student who they suspect to be using drugs or drinking?

"It's really an individual thing," Hall says. The student's best interest
is taken into consideration. Where today's youths' parents would have
probably been suspended for drug use, now they are treated with more
healing methods, he says.

"Now," he says, "if a student were to approach his or her vice-principal
and say 'I'm using cocaine', or 'I'm using marijuana', they would most
likely be referred to a counselling program."

The student would be allowed to continue schoolwork, depending on the case.
If the problem is drinking on the weekends, that's one thing. If it's using
drugs to get through Algebra, it's obviously going to be different.

Students have come to the staff asking for help, Hall says. And the staff
returns that respect by offering it to them, with or without the parents'
knowing.

"We do not automatically try to get the parents involved," he explains. "If
we have a choice to give them help without the parents being involved, or
not get them help, we're going to do it without them."

Ideally, though, parental support can help someone through an addiction.

"Drug use in itself is not the problem," Hall says. "It's a symptom of
something else gone wrong."

The parents can help with setting things right, but sometimes, he says,
they have to hit bottom before reaching the top.

The Abbotsford school system is doing a lot to help win the war against drugs.

"We work with the ministry and child care workers . . . we have a district
wide program called Impact, that works with youth going through rehab . . .
there are police liaison officers in the schools, peer counsellors, locker
searches and police dogs. The liaison officers' presence is a deterrent,"
Hall says.

And the results have been fairly good, he says.

"Generally they find nothing," he explains of the locker searches. "But
occassionally they do find residual smells from clothing, where drugs may
have been kept.