DRINKING, DRUG ABUSE ABOVE ONT. AVERAGE

Student Use Of Cocaine On The Rise

Students in Windsor and Essex County have substance abuse rates higher than
the provincial average, according to the 2003 Ontario Student Drug Use Survey.

Higher abuse rates were recorded for binge drinking, marijuana use and the
daily number of cigarettes smoked.

The binge drinking rate in Southwestern Ontario was 34.5 per cent compared
to the provincial average of 26.5. Just over 17 per cent of students smoke
daily, compared with the provincial average of 13.6, and while marijuana
use in the province was 29.6 per cent, in Southwestern Ontario the rate was
37.3.

"We don't know why that is, and it's something we'll be trying to get a
handle on," said Ed Adlaf, a senior research scientist at the Centre for
Addiction and Mental Health.

Adlaf said substance abuse rates in Southwestern Ontario were higher across
the board, including Windsor and Essex County.

Adlaf said cocaine abuse is most worrisome because it has been rising
steadily since 1993.

"In 1993 it was 1.5 per cent but the recent number is close to five per
cent," said Adlaf. "Ecstasy use is decreasing, perhaps because of the
reports of deaths and cocaine has a low-risk profile right now."

At Windsor's Teen Health Centre, addictions counsellor Michelle Pittao said
she's noticing an increase of cocaine use among the centre's young clients.

"Marijuana is the most common drug for 50 per cent of our clients, but over
the past year we've noticed more of them coming in with cocaine use," said
Pittao.

"It's expensive and to support that kind of habit they will engage in
illegal acts to access the drug. They will become a dealer or become a
middle man in order to afford it."

Pittao said proximity to the border is probably contributing to cocaine use.

In 2002, the centre had 338 students in counselling. The centre serves
young people between 12 and 24 ? the youngest substance abuse client was 13.

Nicole, 16, is in a counselling program because of a marijuana abuse
problem which began in Grade 9 when she began associating with other
students who used the drug.

"I was a good kid and I ended up using every day and trying mushrooms, and
it was ruining my life and my grades dropped from 80s to 60s and I started
failing," said Nicole.

She said cocaine is "easy to get and I know one girl who does it all the
time and she looks terrible."

Sgt. Kevin Trudell, with the Windsor police drug squad, said he has not
arrested a high school student for cocaine possession, but there's no
trouble getting it in the city.

"There's huge amounts of cocaine and crack cocaine in the city that's
coming in from Detroit and Toronto," said Trudell. "Anybody can get it and
all high school students have access to it."

Binge drinking and growing cocaine use is "very troublesome," said David
Wolfe, a child psychologist at CAMH.

"Parents have to shift their goal to safety and harm reduction in their
children, impressing on them that you want them to be safe, and if they
don't feel safe to call home," said Wolfe.