PARENTS, TEACHERS NOT SURPRISED

The amount of substance use Nanaimo students are reporting does not
come as a surprise to at least one parent and educator.

In the most recent safe schools survey for Nanaimo school district,
nearly one-quarter of secondary students reported using marijuana
while at school. That number jumps to 40 per cent when including use
outside of school.

Carl McIvor, a Nanaimo District secondary school parent, said many
students are pushing the boundaries of their experience at this time
in their lives and experimenting with alcohol and marijuana is one way
of doing this.

"Unfortunately, for many kids, it's not a passing thing," he said.
"Marijuana use is seen as being accepted more in society by some
people. There is a lot of poverty, a lot of people who are finding
ways to escape the reality of their situations."

But McIvor questions the truthfulness of the results of the anonymous
survey.

"I'm wondering how many of those kids really have done that and how
many just want to make a statement," he said.

Kip Wood, president of Nanaimo District Teachers' Association, also
questions the survey results.

"You have to kind of look deeper than the numbers," he said. "Is this
in keeping with experimental use in the past or is it something else?

"It's always important information, it's good to look at, but I just
think we need to be careful when we analyze what it means."

Wood said the 243 students who reported never feeling safe at school,
while a small minority, is cause for more concern than the substance
use numbers.

"For teachers, the main thing is communication, trust. I think that's
a good indicator of safety, if a student is connected to an adult."

Wood said a recent report by Dr. Perry Kendall, provincial health
officer, showed a reduction in the number of young people trying
alcohol but a significant increase in binge drinking and students
coming to school while under the influence.