DRUG, ALCOHOL USE NOT LIMITED TO BIG CITIES, GROUP WARNS

KAWARTHA LAKES - A local drug awareness group wants parents to wake up
to the reality of drug and alcohol use among young people.

Members of the Kawartha Lakes Drug Awareness Group (KLDAG) are marking
Drug Awareness Week, which ends Saturday, with a message that
substance use among teens is a problem in small Ontario communities
like the City of Kawartha Lakes.

"We need to change our perception that drugs and alcohol are only
big-city problems," stated Bridget McFarthing, a KLDAG member and
health promoter with the Haliburton, Kawartha, Pine Ridge District
Health Unit. "Drugs and alcohol do affect young people in our
community and it's important for us to realize this."

Numbers bear this out, she added.

The Centre For Addiction and Mental Health surveyed approximately
6,000 Ontario students in Grades 7 to 12 in 2005 to track trends in
drug use among young people. Of those surveyed, 62 per cent of
students reported drinking alcohol and just over one-quarter stated
they smoked cannabis in the previous year (Ontario Student Drug Use
Survey, 2005). The survey found rates of alcohol consumption and
cannabis use in the Central East region, which includes City of
Kawartha Lakes, were higher than the provincial average.

During Drug Awareness Week, group members have been out in the
community raising awareness about the risks of substance use and abuse
and talking about ways to deal with the problem.

McFarthing is also highlighting a new brochure called Alcohol and Drug
Resources For Parents that was created by the health unit and the
group for parents and caregivers in the community. The brochure
explains why young people use drugs, outlines potential indicators
that teenagers are using alcohol or drugs, and lists local and
provincial agencies that provide treatment services and resources.

Copies of the new resource brochure are available by calling the
health unit.