KIDS NEED THE DRUG TALK

Doctor Says Experimentation Starts As Young As 10 Years Of Age

Parents have to start talking to their children at an earlier age
about drug abuse, says a Kenora physician.

Dr. Sean Moore told about 150 people gathered at a substance abuse
prevention summit in Dryden Friday that young people are experimenting
with drugs as young as 10 to 11 years-old.

In fact, 63 per cent of young people in Grades 7-9 have used alcohol,
and some as young as 12 years-old are sniffing glue and gas in
Northwestern Ontario, he said, adding that "you have to talk to kids
about these problems."

Moore said he was "astounded, and floored by the amount of drug abuse"
in the area when he started working at the emergency ward of Lake of
the Woods Hospital in Kenora several years ago.

Moore has been instrumental in establishing a methadone treatment
clinic in Kenora and is dedicated to professional and public education
and awareness of drug abuse.

In his presentation, Moore cited statistics about drug abuse noting
that tobacco products are still the number one killer in Canada
responsible for 15 per cent of deaths; followed by alcohol at three
per cent; and 0.4 per cent of deaths caused by other illegal and
prescription drugs.

The two-day summit, entitled "Substance Abuse: A Family Problem, A
Community Solution" is being held at Dryden Regional and Cultural Centre.

"(It's sessions like this) that make Dryden a better place to live,"
remarked Dryden Coun. Gwen Kurz, who spoke on behalf of meeting hosts,
the Mayor's Committee for the Prevention of Substance Abuse.

Members of the Northwest's Tri-Force Drug Unit spoke on the
wide-spread problem of crystal methamphetamine drug use in the region.

Physicians Jeff Daiter and Michael Vernbut highlighted the opening of
a new methadone treatment centre in Dryden on Monday and what's being
done across the province to treat and prevent substance abuse.

The Dryden clinic will be one of 25 Ontario Addiction Treatment
Centres across the province.

The centre, located at 35 Whyte Street (Unit 2), will feature in-house
counseling, individual and group psychotherapy, and on-call physician
support.

The summit wraps up today with sessions on a First Nation perspective
on substance abuse and a panel discussion on substance abuse.