ADDICTION OFTEN STARTS EARLY

Adolescent addiction takes time and exposure to the right elements to
develop according to a regional expert in the field of treating
substance abusers.

In the experience of Glenn Barnes, executive director of Addiction
Services of Eastern Ontario, the timing of exposure to drugs, alcohol
or both and their availability play key roles in creating addicts.

"Most addicts start out experimenting in the teenage years," Barnes
told a room full of teachers, youth counsellors and health-care
professionals at the Cornwall Civic Complex Tuesday. "They tend to
follow what we call the 85 before 18 rule. Eighty five per cent of
them began abusing alcohol or drugs before they turned 18."

Barnes believes that if the majority of these early experimentation
could be prevented from progressing to the point of addiction, 25 per
cent of hospital beds could be freed up for other types of patients.

"That's my pitch for early intervention as treatment for substance
abusers," he said.

Barnes explained that it takes more than just sniffing a line of
cocaine, for example, to become a drug addict.

Sustained exposure, environmental factors and sometimes past traumas
contribute to addictive behaviour.

"The beginning of addiction occurs when someone seeks to repeat a
pleasurable experience they had after taking a substance," Barnes
said. "The need to repeat that experience eventually starts to affect
their learning skills, decision-making ability, emotions and
behavioural control."

Abuse, he said, is chiefly characterized by someone reaching the
point where they need a drug or alcohol to feel good.

Addiction takes hold when there is both physiological and
psychological dependence in a person, who in turn shows an inability
to control use of a substance, the loss of time management skills and
obsessive behaviour, according to Barnes.

Adolescents most often start drinking and taking drugs because their
friends make them available and pressure each other to try them, but
the teens who are more susceptible are likely either highly
impulsive, thrill seekers or experienced a traumatic social factor
they want to avoid dealing with through drug use.

Barnes said victims of sexual abuse often use substance abuse to
block out the pain of their pasts.

Signs of drug and alcohol abuse parents, teachers and others who care
for youngsters should watch for include a drop in school performance,
lying, lethargy, confusion, personality changes, increased
irresponsibility, missing money and defensiveness.

"If a teenager will talk about one friend and gets defensive when
another friend is brought up, it could be because the other friend is
involved in drugs somehow," Barnes said. "The money that is missing
from a parent's dresser could have been used to pay for drugs."

Overt signs of drug abuse and addiction are bloodshot eyes, a
dissipated gaze, dull skin tone, and shifting sleep patterns.

Tuesday's talk on "Adolescents and Addiction" can be obtained from
Barnes in Power Point format. It is the first of several guest
speaking engagements scheduled throughout the week for the Cornwall
Community Police's Youth Symposium.

Police Chief Dan Parkinson said he hopes Barnes' talk gave the
audience a leg up on preventing further cases of adolescent substance
abuse.

"Drug use and abuse in the city often targets the youth of our
community," Parkinson said. "Educators need to know how to detect the
early stages and signs of drugs creeping into the lives of our youth."