DRUG ABUSE AND BULLYING ON RISE IN CANADA'S HIGH SCHOOLS, REPORT SAYS

TORONTO -- An increasing number of school-age Canadians are doing drugs or
bullying their classmates, suggests a comprehensive new Health Canada study
that paints a sometimes-lurid picture of the country's youth.

Many young people also feel unsafe in their schools, while still more are
skipping classes, suggests the study, to be released next month.

The snapshot of life for children from Grades 6 to 10 indicates that
anti-tobacco campaigns have failed to curb teenage smoking rates.

And while fewer students are drinking regularly, a larger percentage report
having been "really drunk" at least twice, the survey of more than 11,000
children from British Columbia to Newfoundland found.

One of the most significant findings is that marijuana use climbed
significantly between 1994 and 1998, with almost half of Grade 10 students
now saying they smoke up.

"From what I hear, it's easily available, it's high-quality, it's
home-grown often and it's quite cheap," said Mary Johnston of Health
Canada. "For the most part, the consensus is now that marijuana is a health
risk: physically, socially and psychologically."

The report on the survey, called Trends in the Health of Canadian Youth, is
to be released early in October.

But the Citizen obtained some details of the research after an article
about it appeared in the magazine of the Ontario College of Teachers.

The study should be required reading for the nation's educators and
parents, said Joe Atkinson, the college's deputy registrar.

"For parents especially, you have to ask the question: Your kids are not
home, where are they?" he said in an interview. "I don't think it will come
as any surprise to teachers. The schools reflect society."

Such surveys are conducted every four years by Health Canada, part of a
World Health Organization project.

The latest study, conducted last year, found that 44 per cent of Grade 10
boys and 41 per cent of girls had used marijuana three times or more.
That's up from 30 per cent and 27 per cent respectively in 1994.

Cocaine use is also up slightly in that age group, from three per cent for
both boys and girls in 1994 to six and five per cent respectively in 1998.

The percentage of students who said they drank beer, wine or liquor dropped
over the four years. But the proportion of Grade 10 students who said
they'd been "really drunk" at least twice jumped about five points to 43
per cent for both boys and girls in 1998.

Bullying is also on the rise, with 43 per cent of boys and 35 per cent of
girls in Grade 8 saying they've been victimized. That's up from 36 and 29
per cent in 1994. But the increase may simply mean that more students are
reporting incidents of bullying because of publicity surrounding school
violence, said Ms. Johnston.