Pubdate: September 12, 1997
Source: London Free Press
Contact: editor@lfpress.com

TEENS SCORING DRUGS FROM HOME

CREDIT: By John Herbert
Free Press Reporter

ST. THOMAS Parties at which teens pop pills to get high have become
commonplace, students from Arthur Voaden secondary school said Thursday.

The motives of the drug users, students said, range from a need to
escape stress induced by their homes or school to a simple desire to
impress others.

And raiding their parents' medicine cabinet is cheaper and easier than
getting the drugs from other sources, they said.

Six teenagers wound up at St. ThomasElgin General Hospital late Tuesday
after some overdosed on a mix of antidepressants, beer and vodka.

Three were admitted and police said one of them, a 15yearold female,
was unconscious. Three others were treated and released.

A seventh, 15yearold Adam McEwen, was taken to the hospital Wednesday
night after he was found by police wandering in ravines near Cowan Park,
a popular hangout for teenagers. He had been missing since Tuesday
afternoon's party and appeared disoriented when he was found by police
during a search.

McEwen was treated at hospital but not admitted.

A hospital spokesperson said Thursday the teens admitted were in "good
condition" and could be released today or by the weekend.

Students outside Arthur Voaden secondary school said Thursday they
believed six of the seven at the party were students at their school and
were from a group known as "Dirts." They said the other a 19yearold
who does not attend the school supplied prescription pills for the
party.

St. Thomas Police Sgt. Darryl Pinnell said Thursday a 19yearold, who
is in custody, had used a prescription to purchase Lorazepam, an
antidepressant drug. Pinnell said the teenager was "supposed to have
them.'' Pinnell said the youth used the prescription to purchase a
bottle of 180 pills.

NOT FRAUDULENT

"We're not dealing with fraudulent prescriptions,'' he said. Police also
said Lithium and Paroxetine both antidepressants were used by the
youths at the Tuesday house party on Elgin Street.

Teens from Arthur Voaden secondary school estimated about 30 to 40 per
cent of students have used or experimented with some type of drug.
However, they say different groups use different drugs. The teens also
said many kids simply take the pills from their parents' medicine
cabinets without their knowledge.

Grade 12 student Mark MacNeil, 17, who says he does not use any drugs,
said the group known as Dirts is known to hang out at the park and uses
pills to get high.

Grade 10 student Nadine Graham, 15, said use of hash, marijuana and
other drugs is common among her peers. Graham described herself as one
of the Dirts.

"I hang around with the people who did it,'' she explained. "Why do they
do it? I don't know. Most of them are too stoned to talk about it. I
think they use them for stress or to forget what's going on around them
at school or at home, where they might be getting beaten by their
parents.

"What I hear is half the people who do drugs do it to relax. The others
do it to impress and just to get stoned. Somebody in school will say
`Hey, I got a gram let's go do it.' Some losers just do it to fit in
and get other people to like them," she said.

Most students interviewed by The Free Press Thursday were not surprised
by what happened at the party.

"Kids are using drugs every day,'' said Steve Long, 18, adding the drugs
he's talking about are not sold at the school. "They steal them from
their parents."

Jennifer Jedrick, 17, said "anything'' will do from the medicine
cabinet and that they don't have to be the antidepressants used at
the house party this week. Some overthecounter drugs mixed with
booze can also form a lethal concoction.

"It gives them a thrill,'' she said.

Jim Hamilton, viceprincipal at Arthur Voaden, said that despite what
students say, drug use at his school is no different than at any other
school. He called it a "societal problem'' that educators and parents
must deal with together.

"It's not a school issue,'' he said. "But for me to say there are no
drugs at Arthur Voaden makes no sense at all.''

SUBSTANCES CONSUMED

Pinnell confirmed all the "substances" used by the students at this
week's party were consumed at "a residence in the city." He said the
group was familiar with the gully system in St. Thomas and had decided
to "wander" through them during their "high." He said police found
females 15 and 16 years old unconscious on Tuesday night in the ravines.
He said a third, a male, was "stumbling around.''

Pinnell said he was not exactly sure what was in the potent mixture. He
said the majority of the drugs involved were Lorazepam pills. He said
pills were mixed with "hard stuff,'' including vodka, and possibly beer.

Pinnell said police would be interviewing the seven teens during the
next few days.

"We've been unable to take proper statements because they are still
suffering from sideeffects of the drugs," he said.

"We want to get a better handle on this and get answers to who, where
and what. "It's a criminal investigation," he said.