DRUG PROBLEM GROWING: STUDY

PARRY SOUND - A Parry Sound man's account of how he watched his
grandson grow from a baby, to a caring teenager, to a drug addict and
many other similar stories topped a study of the community's drug
problem presented to health officials last Wednesday.

Approximately 10 stakeholders attended the Health and Social Services
Support Network meeting last Wednesday for a presentation of the
long-awaited study.

Many admitted that they were moved to tears reading pieces of the
study, which included anonymous interviews with families who have
struggled with drugs.

Conducted by Peter Deane, of Deane Consulting, the Building a System
study focuses on addictions specifically related to alcohol and drug
use with an emphasis on identifying and addressing service gaps in the
West Parry Sound catchment area.

"The information will assist existing West Parry Sound services to
address unmet needs and future challenges by way of enhanced linkages,
integration, and the development of new or expanded programs," said
Mr. Deane.

While the comprehensive and detailed study fulfilled its primary
purpose of providing statistical information and a needs assessment,
John Lee, grants officer at the West Parry Sound Health Centre, said
it can do much more.

"It is so comprehensive that I can use it as a core document," Mr. Lee
said. "We can use the data for other strategies. A few copies of the
study will go out this week to Health Canada and the federal and
provincial governments. I will also provide copies to MP Tony Clement
and MPP Norm Miller and I'm going to liaison with different funding
agents."

Supportive Funds

Mr. Lee said funds received will go to support HART and the group's
original goal of getting a detox centre in the region.

The closest detox centres are in Barrie, Sudbury and North
Bay.

In March 2006, eight or 3.8 per cent of clients at the Royal Victoria
Hospital of Barrie Withdrawal Management Centre were from the
districts of Muskoka and Parry Sound. On average, two or three clients
from Parry Sound visit the centre on a monthly basis, but not all
clients require detox services.

"What I found interesting is our poor health (as a community)," said
Mr. Lee. "The gender aspect related to those abusing drugs, women lead
men in that regard. Those are a couple of things that I found
interesting. The other thing is the use of prescription drugs. We have
a very unhealthy population here."

Diverted Prescriptions

According to Sudbury's chief of police, Ian Davidson and Vicki Kett,
Sudbury's manager of Community Services at Access AIDS Network, the
majority of OxyContin/narcotics on the street are the result of
diverted prescriptions within the community.

"Pharmacists indicate that they have seen a dramatic increase in the
prescribing of OxyContin and other narcotic medication," said Mr.
Deane. "There has been an alarming increase of OxyContin over the last
three or four years."

Throughout the process of compiling information for the study, Mr.
Deane said he talked to three times the number of people he'd
intended. Many of those were local service program providers like
Addiction Outreach Muskoka/Parry Sound, WPSHC, Aboriginal Health
Services and Centre for Addiction and Mental Health.

"It was probably the most enjoyable project I've ever worked on in
many years," said Mr. Deane. "Enjoyable, maybe isn't the correct word.
It was certainly a learning experience for me to be able to speak to a
vast number of people who are clearly very dedicated. There's a long
list of people who I've interviewed and it's very clear to me that you
don't enter into it as a provider unless you're very dedicated."

Following the presentation, Mr. Deane recommended the group unite to
form a task force to further focus the needs of the community.

"A committee needs to be mobilized, municipalities must get involved,
kids need to be distracted when there at the impressionable age," said
Mr. Deane. "The high school (Parry Sound High School) has done some
very admirable things, but there are other areas where I think they
could be doing better. We need to do more than just (say), 'Oh,
someone has a drug addiction, lets get them out of here.' There are
1001 reasons why (a detox centre) wouldn't be feasible. It's clear to
me that despite all of the up hill challenges, we need to do something
and we need to encourage the province to do something - encourage
partnerships with addiction services to bringing this here."

The West Parry Sound Addiction Services Task Force will include
members of Helping Addicts Restore Themselves (HART), the West Parry
Sound Health Centre, Muskoka-Parry Sound Community Mental Health
Service, Addiction Outreach and other community members.

"The main purpose of the task force is to help the HART ladies and
support them," said Mr. Lee. "Then ultimately, to fund and finance the
resources to develop integral services in our area - to fill in the
gaps."

Mr. Deane's Work Praised

WPSHC CEO Norman Maciver, like most present, spoke words of praise for
Mr. Deane's efforts on the 64-page document.

"There are so many components and many individuals and professional
groups that have to contribute to the solution," said Mr. Maciver.
"What (the study) clearly identifies is something that most of us knew
going in. It's now documented and verified. This is a problem that is
owned by a lot of people, some it's personally, others it's owned
professionally, for others it's owned by an organization, so a lot of
people have a piece. The solution requires that all those people who
have ownership have to be a part of developing the solutions. Each one
makes their own unique contribution to this. The recommendation of
creating this task force has to draw in those stakeholders and start
moving this forward."

The Parry Sound grandfather said he used to take his grandson fishing
and had positive hopes and dreams for youngster, which came crashing
down when the school-smart youth became hooked on drugs.

The youth received detox treatment in Sudbury, a round trip of 300
kilometres, and now appears to be on the road to recovery.

"How many addicts in need of this intervention are not able to make
this trip," the man wrote. "My grandson is doing well. He is giving it
a courageous fight. He is going to make it."

Parry Sound by the Numbers

Figures from a study done to measure drug and alcohol problems in the
West Parry Sound District:

Three quarters of Muskoka Parry Sound Health Unit (MPSHU) residents
reported consuming alcohol in the last year. Of these, 15 per cent
drank alcohol daily - compared to nine per cent for the province.

25.5 per cent of MPSHU residents consumed 12 or more drinks per week,
compared to 15 per cent for Ontario as a whole.

47 substance abuse cases at the West Parry Sound Health Centre's
emergency department in 2005/2006 were a identified as the "primary
service." Forty-five of those were alcohol-related, two were drug related.

95 per cent of addicts do not get medical attention.

50 per cent of all adult mental health patients at the Muskoka/Parry
Sound Community Mental Health Services have some form of addiction
service need, councillors suggest. And 60 to 70 per cent of patients
suffer from both an addiction and a mental illness.

Drug abuse in the Parry Sound area appears to be above the provincial
average, according to local addiction workers. Drug and alcohol abuse
among First Nations peoples is also considered to be above average.

10.9 per cent of the West Parry Sound population aged 20 and over have
less than a Grade 9 education, according to the 2001 Canadian Census.

4.5 per cent of the West Parry Sound population aged 20 and over have
a university education.