DRUG-USE SURVEY HELPS TARGET PROGRAMS, RESOURCES: OFFICIAL

SYDNEY - Results from a survey of student drug use are useful in
helping agencies target their programs and resources, but also allow
them to see areas where information is lacking, the director of
Addiction Services says.

Everett Harris was reacting to the release this week of the most
recent survey of student drug use in Nova Scotia. There were nearly
4,500 surveys completed provincewide by students in Grades 7, 9, 10
and 12.

The drugs most commonly used were alcohol, tobacco and
cannabis.

Forty-two per cent of students reported being drug-free, up from 40
per cent from the previous survey in 2002 and from 35 per cent in
1998. It showed that 16 per cent of students smoke cigarettes, down
from 24 per cent in 2002; while 52 per cent drink alcohol, with 28
per cent of those students reporting having more than five drinks in
one sitting.

A breakdown by region is not available, a spokesperson for the Office
of Health Promotion said this week, but results aren't believed to
vary much from one area of the province to another.

Harris said he was not surprised that what he described as
traditional drugs still account for the lion share of use by
students, adding he believes in some areas Cape Breton may be
slightly higher than the provincial figures, particularly in some
drinking patterns and cannabis use.

"This is a really good survey, there are really high rates of
participation," Harris said, adding since the survey has not been
conducted a number of times , it's possible to go back and make
comparisons.

"There's that kind of consistency and continuity as well as it being
good data with a lot of participation. There's need for other kinds
of research to be done. We know that kids drink a lot but we need to
know the context in which they do that to have a better
understanding. I think we have to go out and talk to them."

While what are considered to be more exotic drugs, are present, the
number reporting using them is relatively small, such as seven per
cent having used ecstacy and 1.6 per cent having used crystal meth.

The survey provides good information, Harris said, and it also points
out where knowledge is lacking, for example, usage patterns of young
people not in the school system.

"There certainly are alarming things about the non-school population,
and I think the study points out that we need to get better at trying
to understand what's going on with (them)," he said. "We know that
there are some non-school kids that are using at younger and younger
ages and in fact there are some small numbers of people who are using
in a very dangerous way at really early ages, so we'd like to
understand that a bit better and be able to reach those people."

That will require talking to them, Harris said, and he expects focus
groups to take place in the next year. The agency is also proposing
following a model previously attempted in Vancouver, that would see
nurses go out on the street, working directly with both adults and
young people.

"It's probably a population that if they're not going to school and
they're hanging out, they're probably not going to clinics and if
they do end up in a health-care setting, it's probably in some kind
of crisis," Harris said.

He added it's important to continue to attempt to get the message
across that it's not a normal thing to use drugs and alcohol.

The 2007 Student Drug Use Survey was conducted in partnership with
the Department of Health Promotion and Protection, Department of
Education and Dalhousie University community health and epidemiology.
It was the fourth time the Atlantic provinces collected and analyzed
standardized data. The full report and Nova Scotia highlights are
available on the Health Promotion and Protection website at
www.gov.ns.ca/hpp/repPub/NS_Highlights_2007.pdf