TEEN DRUG TREATMENT STUDY LAUNCHED

VANCOUVER - Hundreds of drug-addicted teens are taking part in a
Fraser Health Authority research project to find the best way to treat
them for their dependencies.

The FHA wants to determine if the young people respond better to
24-hour institutional care - or living at home and being treated on an
outpatient basis.

The health authority's addictions leader, Sherry Mumford, says finding
the right treatment is going to be difficult, because most young
people are using more than one drug at the same time.

"You might see a youth using methamphetamine and then using some pot
to take the edge of that, and then he's using alcohol at the same
time." she says.

"There'll be some kids that will come in and say, 'I use all of those
drugs but the one I'm really having problems with is cocaine.' So the
focus of the treatment is to reduce the cocaine use."

Mumford says the percentage of young people using drugs isn't
necessarily growing in the Lower Mainland, but says the growing
population means there are more young addicts.

She says the health authority developed the seven-month trial in hopes
of learning where its resources will be best directed to curb youth
addiction.