STUDENT DRUG USE RISING

Officials Alarmed. Youth In Schools Here More Likely To Indulge Than Those
In U.S. Or Ontario

Nearly half of Quebec's high-school students have smoked marijuana and
about 20 per cent use it weekly, says a new report published by the
Institut de la Statistique du Quebec and the provincial Health Department.

Researchers studying drugs, alcohol and gambling in schools also found that
nine out of 10 high schoolers will have tried booze by the time they
graduate. Half will be social drinkers, and 20 per cent will have gone
binge-drinking at least five times. About 6 per cent will graduate with a
substance-abuse problem serious enough to need treatment.

Health officials admit the figures are cause for some alarm because they
show a steady increase in alcohol and drug use in Quebec schools.

"At the same time, the proportion of children who don't have any type of
problem remains very high," said Lucie Leduc, a Health Department official.
"But we are preoccupied by what seems to be more precocious consumption by
young people.

"We're taking steps to address those concerns, including attacking risk
factors like low self-esteem and family problems, and putting more emphasis
on prevention campaigns."

Institute researchers also found that adolescents here are less likely to
gamble than elsewhere in Canada. Of the students surveyed, 63 per cent said
they gamble occasionally (which includes betting on sports events with
friends or parents). In New Brunswick, studies show the proportion to be 64
per cent, while in Manitoba, the figure climbs to 78 per cent.

About 3.5 per cent of students in Quebec are at risk of developing gambling
problems.

Also, boys are more likely than girls to gamble.

"There are competing phenomena at work here," said Serge Chevalier, a
researcher and gambling expert with the Institut National de Sante Publique
du Quebec.

"Quebec has one of the strongest prohibitions against young people buying
lottery tickets or gambling in casinos, but we also promote gambling more
than other places."

The study also indicated that Quebec high schoolers are more likely to have
tippled or used drugs than their peers in Ontario or in the United States.

Louise Guyon, one of the report's authors, said the hypothesis is that
"there are cultural factors here which make Quebec more like Europe in our
attitudes toward wine and alcohol."

"Also, in the U.S., drug prohibition is much stronger, and the respondents
to our study are probably being more frank than American kids."

The $40,000 study (available at www.stat.gouv.qc.ca) was conducted among
4,730 students in 156 Quebec schools. It polled students in English,
French, private and public schools between Oct. 31 and Dec. 15, 2000, and
is considered the most accurate statistical snapshot yet taken of the
province's 425,000 students.

Highlights

42 per cent of students consumed drugs in the 12 months preceding the
study; of these students, 72 per cent used drugs (mostly cannabis) in the
30 days before survey was conducted.

16 per cent of students say they've used hallucinogenics.

61 per cent of Grade 11 students say they've used cannabis.

51 per cent of high-school students surveyed (from secondary 1 to 5)
consume alcohol occasionally; 20 per cent drink alcohol regularly (every week).

22 per cent of students have admitted drinking to excess (defined as 5
drinks or more in one sitting, 5 times in a year).

The number of regular drinkers increases with age. In Grade 7, the
proportion is 7 per cent, in Grade 11, it's 40 per cent.