YOUTH HAVE GREATER ACCESS TO HARD DRUGS

Crystal Meth, Cocaine Top List, Addictions Counsellor Says

Marijuana, crystal meth, cocaine, alcohol and ecstasy.

These are the drugs of choice of local youth - drugs they can get
easily and easily get hooked on, according to a local addictions counsellor.

While studies show that drug use among our youth has reached a
plateau, southwestern Ontario has seen a spike in cocaine use in
older students.

"Cocaine is the only drug (documented) as being on the increase,"
said Tina Martin, founder of Addiction Support and Knowledge (ASK)
Services.

Long-term patterns show an overall decrease in drug use in the 1980s,
and then a spike in the 1990s, which has since slowly decreased or
stayed the same, Martin said.

What has changed, she said, is that hard drugs have become much more
accessible to students.

"Over 50 per cent of kids know where to get crystal meth or cocaine,"
she said.

"For this reason we must empower youth and those who affect youth,
with facts and updated information to help them make good decisions
and stay safe."

Concerned about gaps in services in drug prevention and treatment in
rural areas, Martin, a certified addiction counsellor, has decided to
battle drug use at its root, with a goal of prevention through education.

"It should start as prevention," she said. "That's my tagline. People
see the need for that, but there hasn't been the funding."

Martin first learned about addiction up close on Vancouver Island,
where she worked in substance abuse. She returned to Ontario in 2001
and worked in the treatment and prevention of problem gambling in
Oxford County at Addiction Services of Thames Valley.

Inspired by what she saw as a lack of services, compared to other
areas such as Victoria, B.C., Martin believed she "could offer
something, as my passion is working with youth and family."

In Oxford County, one staff person is available to offer substance
abuse treatment. A limited budget makes it impossible to provide
specific services to youth, not to mention prevention and education,
she said.

"My passion comes from the fact that this isn't being done," she
said. "When I worked in Victoria, there was such a variety of
services - from prevention to treatment - that just aren't being done
here."

She believes the time is right for a project like ASK to be
implemented here.

"It seemed to be a ripe time with many services interested in looking
at this topic," she said.

Sponsored by the corporate-funded Council on Drug Abuse (CODA),
Martin started making presentations last year at local high schools,
youth ages 12 to 19 and those affecting youth such as teachers and
parents.

Martin described the response as "very positive" and emphasized her
service is geared "to work with community partners."

"Addiction problems are not an isolated issue," she said.

Martin said she sees her role as providing "practical,
researched-based information and solutions to youth, families and
community services on addiction straight from the source-certified
addictions counsellors."

Her presentations debunk myths about marijuana, explore the
biological and psychosocial consequences of drug use and the growing
concern called crystal meth.

ASK Services and CODA offer several programs on drug prevention for
youth ages 12 to 19.