'DRUGS DESTROY LIVES,' PARENTS REMINDED

In Douglas Green's opinion, the war on drugs is over.

And drugs have won.

"We've been fighting them for over 100 years," the former veteran
police officer told a group of about 50 parents at Porter Creek
Secondary School on Tuesday evening.

The Porter Creek School Council hosted the event, called Just Say
"Know" - Drugs 101, to help parents learn about preventing teen
substance abuse, reasons for teen drug use, and recognizing signs of
substance use.

Green, who spent 26 years with the Edmonton Police Service, is now the
school's drug awareness co-ordinator.

The number of available drugs keeps rising, said Green. The current
list of drugs in circulation is "so long and lengthy that it scares
all of us," he said.

Enforcement of drug trafficking is not a deterrent to drug use, said
Green. The key to reducing drug abuse is in educating young people
about the disastrous effects of drug addiction, he added.

Substance abuse is often referred to as a barrier to completing high
school, said Green, but it is also a barrier to completing life.
Substance abuse is linked to premature death, crime, disability,
family dysfunction and poverty.

"Every #school in Canada has drugs," said Green. "If I was a drug
dealer, this is where I'd want to start selling."

He added this will likely always be the case.

"Keeping drugs out schools? They can't keep drugs out of
jails."

Green said every town in Canada, no matter how small, has
drugs.

Earlier this week, RCMP officers arrested a B.C. couple entering
Watson Lake suspected of carrying $5,000 worth of cocaine, said Green.

He said he is often asked to identify the "worst drug on the street."
Green said the answer is whatever drug is affecting you most.

For instance, if a loved one has just been killed by a drunk driver,
alcohol is the worst drug for you.

If someone you know is dying of lung cancer, tobacco is the worst
drug.

If a young person has just overdosed on ecstasy, that is the worst
drug for him or her.

Green added that cocaine is the number one drug of choice throughout
Canada, while alcohol is the most popular drug amongst young people.

Other addictive drugs include "magic mushrooms," a type of LSD,
salvia, which is used because it induces "mystical or hallucinogenic
experiences," and methamphetamine.

"Meth leaves behind a dark shadow of shattered communities," said
Green.

"It is one of the most user-friendly drugs," he added. That's because
it can be smoked, snorted, inhaled, injected, or inserted into any
orifice to have an effect. Meth recipes are easily available on the
Internet and it can be made in one's backyard.

Green showed a photograph of an attractive, professional woman he knew
who later spent six years in jail due to her meth addiction.

The "after" picture of her was barely recognizable. She lost all her
teeth because of the drug, said Green.

"Prescription drug abuse is absolutely the number one drug problem in
the U.S.A.," said Green.

Legitimate prescription drugs can be sold on the streets at huge
profits. Prescription drug abusers often chew the pills instead of
swallowing them.

Marijuana, of course, is a multibillion-dollar business. The marijuana
trade is "mostly run by organized crime groups. Gangs are killing each
other to win the share of the market," said Green.

Most marijuana-related arrests are for small-scale operations, said
Green, because the bigger operations are tougher to crack.

Green said weed's reputation as a harmless drug is
erroneous.

One of his slides showed a quotation from Dr. Robert Gilkeson. It
said: "Chemically, marijuana is a far more dangerous drug than most of
the scientifically ignorant media and American consumer have been
duped into believing."

And a criminal record of drug possession stays with you forever, said
Green. It will affect your chances of finding employment and may
prohibit you from ever crossing the border into the U.S.

"There is no walk if you're caught with pot."

Green openly said he first smoked a cigarette at age 13, and it took
him 36 years to kick the habit.

"Every kid has the potential to get messed up," said Green.
"Addictions happen to everyone."

Addiction affects people who are high or low achievers, from rural and
urban areas, from different socio-economic backgrounds, and from
stable or dysfunctional families, said Green.

There is no such thing as a stereotypical drug user. As a real-life
example, Green told the crowd about the daughter of Alberta Chief
Justice Catherine Fraser, who has a criminal record stemming from her
addiction to crystal methamphetamine.

"The results are predictable and consistent," said Green. "Drugs
destroy lives."

Green said that there is not enough emphasis on drug education and
prevention for young people. From Grades 7 to 12, students recieve
just one hour of curriculum-based education on drug abuse, he said.

Green said it's unrealistic to tell kids to completely abstain from
drug experimentation.

"As long as substances exist that alter the way we feel, young people
are going to try them. That's history. (But) education allows you to
make good decisions about drugs.

"If we can get one (more) kid to walk across the dais and shake (the
principal's) hand, we'll have succeeded."

Green said parents should know what's in their child's bedroom,
because any signs of drug use, such as paraphernalia or drugs
themselves, will likely be found there.

Other signs of drug use include changes in personality, a decline in
personal hygiene, and compulsive behaviour.

Green told a story of a girl who spent 12 hours drawing circles, while
high on methamphetamine, until she could get the "perfect" one.

He recommended that parents set reasonable rules and boundaries for
their children, and enforce them consistently.

He also said parents must hold their children accountable for their
actions. Many parents blame drug dealers when their children are
caught with the narcotics.

"But no dealer says, 'Smoke weed. Do it now,'" said
Green.

Reasons that young people engage in drug use include confusion about
sexual identity, difficulty coping with life, peer pressure,
opposition to authority, or "recognition of a development transition,"
meaning that younger students will sometimes start using drugs to feel
like they fit in with older students.

Although more than 600 students attend Porter Creek Secondary, only 50
parents attended the event.

"I love the turnout, but there's 150 more people who could have come
here," said Green. "It's all about modelling. It starts with you."

Green also brought his drug-sniffing dog, Ebony, to the
presentation.

Ebony is able to detect drugs through layers of material, and can even
pinpoint a small amount of drug inside a calculator's battery.