ADOLESCENT USE OF DRUGS, LIQUOR NEARS EPIDEMIC

Following is the viewpoint of the writer, developer of the Drug Class
Program for high schools in Regina and secretary of the board of the
Saskatchewan Association for the Betterment of Addiction Services.

As someone who has worked for a long time in the field of adolescent
drug and alcohol use, it appears to me that we are on the edge of an
epidemic or even in the middle of one.

More kids today are using more drugs and alcohol, and they are doing
it at a younger age. Progress and attendance problems at schools are
increasing, much of it that can be linked directly to substance abuse.
The number of adolescents and their parents seeking help from
professionals for substance use disorders is on the rise.

Data from the Ontario Student Drug Use Survey confirm that substance
use among young people is very common. Some public health flags
involving students:

q One-quarter smoke cigarettes;

q Heavy drinking (i.e., binge drinking) is higher compared to a decade
ago;

q Over the past decade, illicit drug use has steadily increased, even
when cannabis is excluded;

q One in seven drink and drive and one in five report driving after
cannabis use;

q Fewer students disapprove of drug use compared to the counterparts
of a decade ago;

q The reported availability of drugs (except LSD) is increasing,
Ecstasy use has increased substantially, along with daily use of cannabis;

q Cocaine use steadily increased.

The number of young persons (age 14-24 years) who consume alcohol is
at an all-time high provincially and nationally. A 2007 survey showed
nearly 83 per cent of youth over the age of 15 had used alcohol within
the previous year and approximately 91 per cent had done so in their
lifetimes. Of particular concern, is the finding that Saskatchewan has
the highest rate of youth alcohol dependence in Canada. National and
provincial rates are projected to continue rising, unless
interventions designed to reduce youth alcohol use become more effective.

Substance use is being increasingly normalized and just creeping
higher. Frequency of use has gone from being limited to weekends to
several times a week. The common belief still is that drugs are bad,
but alcohol is OK because it's not a drug. Many also believe that
marijuana is not really a drug, and so it's OK, too. Parents are
buying alcohol for their children in the hopes that somehow that will
control what the youths consume.

Adolescents are highly susceptible to becoming drug or alcohol
dependent, even if they don't become addicts. Adolescents, because of
their developmental stage, are at greater risk.

Another factor that contributes to the problem is the increasing
frequency with which teens "party" (their term for whenever they are
using drugs and alcohol). It's becoming more common for youths to
drink or take drugs before they go to watch sports events. Many feel
the need to pre-drink or pre-drug before they go out -- another
symptom of being drug/alcohol dependent. There is an increasing and
significant number of teens (around 10 per cent) who are using daily.

One of the biggest concerns today is their ready acceptance of trying
other drugs such as Ecstasy, whose main component is crystal
methamphetamine. It's readily accessible and cheap. It isn't just the
typical "druggie" kid who is doing it. The normalization of drug and
alcohol makes it much easier to take the next step to trying this
drug, which is addictive, damaging and dangerous. Cocaine, morphine
and Oxycontin, too, have become readily available.

One of the symptoms of excessive drug and alcohol use is depression.
Many parents are picking up the signs of depression or severe mood
swings in their children and are rightly concerned. Many kids end up
on anti-depressants because they are afraid to admit to parents or
doctors their regular use of alcohol and drugs. their drug o parents
or doctors that they have been regularly using substances.

Teens also are masters of minimization. They will tell a bit of the
truth to try to make people feel a bit better, but never let the whole
cat out of the bag.

As with anything else, the risk of crashing increases if you get going
too fast. Parents need to be the ones to start putting the brakes on
some of this. Check your kids' stories, talk to other parents and
don't condone regular and/or excessive drug or alcohol use. Watch for
symptoms, changes in grades or attendance, mood swings, evasiveness,
using anger to avoid discussion or consequences. Get educated about
this issue and don't just pass it off as "they just going through a
stage."

As parents, educators and adults it is our responsibility to try to
keep our kids safe and growing in the right direction.