SEMINAR EXAMINES YOUTH DRUG BEHAVIOUR

A lifelong struggle with addiction spiralled into homelessness for Tom
Regehr, who spoke recently at a Centre for Addiction and Mental Health
(CAMH) seminar on teen drug use behaviour.

"Several times I was so close to death it was scary," said Regehr
during the talk on Nov. 18 at Rene M. Caisse Theatre in Bracebridge.
More than 100 people gathered for the forum.

When Regehr was 28 years old, he was a successful landscaping
consultant and doing well financially and professionally, he explained.

"I did specialty work; I made a lot of money. I put almost all of it
up my nose in powder cocaine, (and) a lot of it went down my throat in
beer," he said.

At one point, friends asked Regehr to get help and he refused. Soon
after that he became homeless.

"The year after that, I was the guy on the street with the long
beard," said Regehr. "I had one set of clothes from fall to summer and
there was one winter there where I barely remember anything."

The people who finally helped Regehr looked him right in the eye and
spoke in short, straightforward sentences with love, he said.

Regehr talked about the trauma of losing his mother to mental illness
when he was a child and how that led him to binge drinking and addiction.

These days, Regehr makes speeches about his healing from trauma,
addiction and homelessness while promoting a self-help group he
founded named Come And Sit Together (CAST).

In his experience working with young people, Regehr suggested many who
use cannabis and alcohol do so because of stress and anxiety.

He suggested parents listen and give youth a home for their
confusion.

In North Simcoe-Muskoka, youth from Grades 9 to 12 have the highest
rates of cannabis and alcohol use in the province, said Suzanne
Witt-Foley, program consultant for CAMH in Muskoka.

In a comparative list of drugs, cannabis, alcohol and opiate pain
relievers are the most commonly used substances for most youth in this
area, she said. Crystal meth and other similar drugs have very low
reported use in Simcoe-Muskoka, she said.

"What the ones on the list (cannabis, alcohol and opiate pain
relievers) do is make you mellow and deal with teenage angst," said
Regehr. "That list was an indicator about teenage angst. It was not
about addiction, it was about substance abuse, it was about
painkillers - whether it was about alcohol, marijuana, (and) the opiate."

There is a significant jump in substance use from Grade 8 to Grade 9,
according to figures gathered by CAMH.

The transition from Grade 8 to high school while undergoing puberty
can be a difficult time for young people, said Regehr, adding that
cannabis and alcohol are addictive substances. As an unregulated
substance, cannabis can be dangerous, he said.

The use of opiate pain relievers such as OxyContin, Percocet,
Percodan, Tylenol 3, Demerol and codeine are very dangerous and
difficult to quit once a person is addicted, said Witt-Foley.

Almost 75 per cent of youth who admit to using painkillers said they
are finding opiates in their home medicine cabinets, said Witt-Foley.

"This is another opportunity for parents to clean out your medicine
cabinets," she said.

Tracey Bornet-Greene, a mental health professional from RISK, which
implements alcohol and drug use prevention programs, also spoke at the
event. Bornet-Greene said parents can start speaking to their children
about drugs as young as age six. At an early age children can
understand how medicine from a doctor can help a person get better
when they are ill.

Parents can let their preteen children know the risks. When youth
enter their teens, it is important for parents to know who their
children are socializing with and establish open communication, she
noted.

There are resources in the community to help parents learn how to talk
to children about drugs and alcohol. Addiction Outreach has offices in
Muskoka and Parry Sound. Call 1-800-668-1856 for more information.