IT'S HARDER TO SAY NO, KIDS IN LONDON FIND

Drug, Alcohol Use Soars Among Teens

The use of drugs, alcohol and tobacco by Ontario teens has surged, a trend
that's found fertile ground in the London area, say students, school
officials and treatment centres.

Substance abuse has been rising since 1993 and has reached levels in
Ontario last seen in the 1970s, according to a survey of nearly 5,000
students from Grades 7 to 13 released yesterday by the Centre for Addiction
and Mental Health.

Among the findings comparing 1999 with 1993:

- - The use of cannabis -- marijuana and hashish -- has almost tripled.

- - Almost two-thirds of students now drink alcohol and 42 per cent have
binged at least once -- both significant jumps.

- - The percentage of drug-free students has dropped to 26.8 per cent from
36.3 per cent.

That latter figure puts Beal secondary school student Jenna Walters in the
minority. For the 16-year-old student, the proof is as close as a stroll
down Dundas Street.

"Twenty people will ask you if you want to buy drugs," she said yesterday
during a lunch break.

Temptations are even more apparent when teens party.

"Everyone is drinking or doing drugs," said Jason Wright, a 12th-grader at
Beal.

At one party, Walters said, an intoxicated teen ran through a bonfire.

The rise in substance abuse among teens is apparent at a treatment centre
near Lambeth, where applications are up 150 per cent since 1997.

George Glover, executive director of the Teen Challenge Farm, said students
feel less inhibited by a society that tolerates substance abuse -- an
opinion that echoed one given by teens in the survey.

Some teens are following the bad example of parents. "You abdicate your
right to preach morals to your children when you don't practise it
yourselves," Glover said.

School officials with both the public and Catholic boards agreed drug and
alcohol use appears to be on the rise.

"(The survey) doesn't surprise me. The staff say students tell them of many
weekend and weeknight activities that are alcohol-related," said Larry
Langan, a superintendent with the London District Catholic school board.

But Langan was shocked by another survey finding -- some students still
believe drugs won't harm them.

Many London teens believe "if it's cheap, it's not harmful," Walters said.

Anti-drug messages at school -- which officials said are more comprehensive
than in the past -- are often dismissed by teens eager to rebel, the
students said.

That's frustrating for educators.

"What happens when school closes at 3:30 is out of our hands," Langan said.

The use of drugs is part of a broader problem whose symptoms include
violence, said Peter Askey, a superintendent with the Thames Valley
District school board.

While schools should always strive to do better, better lesson plans won't
undo the harm caused when adults set a bad example, Askey said.

"It's what they see, not what they hear," he said.

Other findings of the survey showed striking increases since 1997:

- - Students unable to stop using drugs jumped to 6.5 from 2.9 per cent.

- - Use of solvents jumped to 7.3 from 2.6 per cent.

- - Use of medical barbiturates jumped to 11.5 from five per cent.

- - While drug use was lowest among 7th-graders, they led the field with the
use of inhalants.