SUBSTANCE ABUSE A PROBLEM AMONG STUDENTS

Binge-drinking, experimentation with pharmaceuticals and marijuana use
continue to be problems that school drug educators see frequently, but
as part of his day-to-day duties, Rand Teed tries to make students
think twice before lighting up or guzzling down.

On Monday, drug and alcohol educator Teed joined Regina Qu'Appelle
Health Region addictions counsellor Don Fitzsimmons at Michael A.
Riffel High School to speak to mainly parents and guardians about what
causes a teen to become addicted to drugs, how it affects the teen and
what family members should do about it.

The first thing people need to deal with is their perceptions about
drug addiction, Teed said prior to the presentation.

"Primarily what I'm going to be doing is to try and get the parents
and the kids to understand that people with drug and alcohol problems
aren't bad people," he said, explaining that those negative
perceptions can keep some people from getting help or admitting
there's a problem, either with themselves or with their children.

He said those perceptions may be part of the reason these
presentations -- which are held several times throughout the year --
are not always well-attended.

"I think a lot of parents don't want to come, because if they come
they think somebody's going to think that their kid has a drug
problem," Teed said. "So that goes back to that societal attitude
about this is something to be ashamed about. The other thing I talk
about is that this is a disease, and if they look at it that way, we
can address it much better. One of the metaphors I use is that if you
came to something like this and realized that your kid had cancer,
would you try and hide it or would you go and get some help?"

During his portion of the presentation, Teed explained the way the
body and the brain react to drugs -- including alcohol -- before
telling parents that yelling at their kids about drugs won't work.
Talking and listening to kids about their problems are key.

Prior to the presentation, he said binge-drinking is an increasing
problem and marijuana and some pharmaceuticals continue to be popular
drugs among youth. The average age of first use in Regina is about 11,
and by Grade 9, an estimated 40 per cent of students have already
become involved in substance use to some degree, Teed added.

"The younger you can develop people's awareness that this stuff is
more than just finding something to do, the more likely that you'll be
able to affect some positive change," he said.

One woman who attended the presentation, who asked not to be named,
said she recently found out her Grade 9 son got some marijuana through
some other students.

"I've always been coming to these (presentations) even when he was in
grade school, but recently the problem has arisen already, and we
caught him before he even was using," she said, adding she is working
to deal with the problem.

Connie Brezinski said she and her husband came simply to learn more
about what to watch for.

"I hear it's quite bad and there's lots of drugs out there, and I just
want to be aware of some of them and what they're doing, how they're
taking them and getting them," she said.

Other than learning more about drugs, their effects and how to deal
with a problem, Fitzsimmons said presentations can have other positive
outcomes for parents.

"In past times ... we have often hooked them up with help for
themselves, and along the way we can get to their kids, and if service
is needed, we can set that up too," he said.