SUBSTANCE ABUSE TO BE TARGETED

A strategy to deal with substance abuse on the Sunshine Coast was
presented to educators, RCMP members, outreach workers, health
professionals, politicians and community members last Thursday, Nov.
23, in the Sechelt Indian Band Longhouse.

The strategy is the culmination of six months work funded through a
provincial crystal meth grant and overseen by the Sunshine Coast
Community Methamphetamine Response Program advisory committee.
However, Carol Nielsen, who formulated the report, said it was
obvious the Sunshine Coast community wanted a strategy to deal with
more than just crystal meth issues.

"Our goal was to develop a strategy for a co-ordinated Coast-wide
strategy to effectively deal with substance abuse in our community," she said.

Through research it was found that "substance abuse" included
tobacco, alcohol, illegal drugs and prescription drugs on the Sunshine Coast.

Research in the report states 36 per cent of 20 to 24 year olds on
the Sunshine Coast smoke and 80 per cent of people 15 years old and
older have had a drink in the past year, while 35 per cent reported
alcohol use by others had harmed them in the past year. A surprising
52 per cent of those aged 15 and older on the Sunshine Coast admitted
to having used cannabis in their lives, which is the highest
percentage in Canada, while five per cent of students in grades seven
to 12 said they may have used methamphetamine.

The most misused substances by youth on the Sunshine Coast were
identified as being marijuana and alcohol.

The number one priority identified in the report is to develop a
Sunshine Coast recovery house.

"Many mentioned the need to send people who were ready for treatment
somewhere close to family, friends and a support system," said the report.

During discussion following Nielsen's presentation, Const. Bryson
Hill noted he is currently working with Vision Quest to secure a
house to implement a recovery program locally.

"We just need to get a place and we can be up and running," he said.

Heather Gordon of the advisory committee noted Hill's efforts would
be taken into consideration so the task force (which will oversee the
implementation of recommendations in the report) doesn't double up on
work already being done in the community.

"There still may be a need for a day program as well, which is
something the task force will look into," she said.

The number one recommendation in Nielsen's report titled "Opened
Doors: A Co-ordinated Coast-Wide Substance Abuse Strategic
Framework," is to set up a substance abuse task force to move the
strategy forward. Coast Reporter recently presented a three-part
series touching on several issues based on the Opened Doors concept.

Different organizations would participate in the task force in
different ways. Some, such as school-based organizations, may be
primarily involved in prevention activities such as awareness
campaigns. Others, such as addiction services workers, may focus more
on treatment and harm reduction activities such as the recovery day
program, the report states.

More recommendations in the report include building awareness of the
problems in the community and stepping up parent education,
implementing school-based prevention programs, having the task force
support the RCMP, particularly in the area of youth initiatives, and
having the task force take on more research in the areas of
addictions for seniors and ways to decrease risk factors in all age groups.

Nielsen hopes the recommendations in the report will help to make the
vision a reality of having "people live free of harms associated with
alcohol, tobacco and other drugs and substances." More money is
needed to implement the recommendations. "We will be seeking more
funding from local and provincial governments to make that happen,"
Gordon said.

She said existing committees dealing with substance abuse issues will
be invited to participate in the task force and that in January the
task force will approve the steps suggested in the report, make any
changes necessary and adopt a terms of reference to proceed with
their mandate to move the strategy forward.

"Then we will find ways to undertake the actions suggested once they
are approved by the task force. It will probably involve the creation
of some sub-committees to work on specific action items, for example,
the recovery house," Gordon said. For more information about the
strategy, go to www.sunshinecoastsubstanceabusestrategy.ca where a
copy of the strategy in its entirety was uploaded this week.