WASTED YOUTH

Part 3 in a series investigating teen drug use in Durham Region

DURHAM -- The first time Anne found drugs in her house she didn't
even know what was she was looking at.

"Parents should know what drugs look like," said Anne, who asked that
her real name not be used for this story. "We didn't even know the
names (of some of the drugs). That's how stupid we were."

Anne remembers the struggle her family went through while her
stepsons Andrew and Rick were teens, both using drugs.

They watched their parents go through a divorce and could not
maintain a stable relationship with their biological mother.

Rick was suicidal and "at his wit's end" with a drug habit he
couldn't get away from. Anne and her husband sent Rick to stay with
Anne's family on the east coast. While there, Rick received
treatment, which seemed successful at the time, but ended up failing
in the long term.

Intervention couldn't save her stepsons. Andrew died young, still
taking ecstasy around the time he died. Rick is estranged from his
family. They haven't seen or heard from him in three years and Anne
thinks he may still be using drugs, she said.

She said she wishes there had been more prevention programs in place
when her sons were boys.

"I think for sure it would have helped," she said.

It may be that the "just say no" message out there when her stepsons
were growing up just wasn't effective.

According to a recent survey called Drug Use Among Ontario Students
released by the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, "prevention
efforts should include a component that targets youths' beliefs and
attitudes about drugs, specifically the risks of physical harm that
can occur from use."

Angela Kirby, clinical coordinator of community treatment services at
Pinewood, the Durham Region drug treatment centre, said its programs
do just that.

Just saying 'don't do drugs' is not as effective as telling kids how
drug use can impact their lives. It also helps to get kids thinking
about how they will react when someone offers them drugs, she said.

"Hopefully when they do feel that peer influence, they'll know the
reasons to say no," said Ms. Kirby. "The more prepared they are for
that peer influence, the more likely they are to make healthy
decisions for themselves."

Pinewood Centre participates in a prevention program for Grade 5
students and offers a Risks Associated with Substance Use
presentation for students in grades 7 and 8.

In Grade 8, the Pinewood counsellors talk about the co-occurrence of
substance abuse and mood or anxiety disorders.

"If we get in there young and we provide them with accurate
information, perhaps they'll make better decisions," she said.

The gaps in helping youth struggling with substance addiction and
mental health issues were brought to light by a select committee on
mental health and addiction, led by Oakville Liberal MPP Kevin Flynn
and Whitby-Oshawa Progressive Conservative MPP Christine Elliott.

The report released last August found early diagnosis and
intervention are crucial for a more effective children's mental health system.

On March 29, Ontario's budget announced $257 million in new funding
for children's mental health and addiction.

In an interview following the budget, Ms. Elliott said she hopes the
funding for mental health and addiction will be used effectively, but
she had no indication as to exactly how the money will be spent.

"Unfortunately it's very vague at this point," said the MPP, who
added she has no intention of abandoning the issue.

Even among experts there can be significant disagreements on how best
to serve a population as challenging as drug-addicted youth with
mental illness.

In January, Ontario Shores Centre for Mental Health Sciences in
Whitby revamped its adolescent program. The mental health hospital
replaced of a large portion of the child and youth counsellors with
nurses and collapsed two units of the adolescent inpatient services
into a single 12-bed unit.

Psychiatrist Gabrielle Ledger, staff psychiatrist on the adolescent
assessment, stabilization, treatment and transition program at
Ontario Shores, quit her job because of the changes, calling it "a
significant step backward" in care.

Ontario Shores defended the decision as in the best interest of youth
to be treated in the least restrictive environment and back home faster.

Dan Hogan, substance abuse and violence prevention coordinator with
the Durham District School Board, said group mentality is one of the
challenges with prevention.

In the classroom, the message may hit home and students may associate
drugs with a certain crowd they know to avoid. But outside the class,
in the heat of the moment, peer pressure can win when students are
offered drugs. Mr Hogan said the board's programs try to combat that
disconnect.

Racing Against Drugs is one of the programs the board offers, in
conjunction with Pinewood. It's offered board-wide to Grade 5
students at Iroquois Park Sports Arena in Whitby in May.

"It's the cusp of when kids start experimenting," Mr. Hogan said
about targeting the program to pre-teens.

Offering drug prevention programs can be challenging. In a school day
packed full of curriculum mandates in every subject, it can be
difficult to fit all the information in, he said.

"It's a balancing act."

In addition to Racing Against Drugs, the board has recently started
up a pilot presentation for high school students, also in
collaboration with Pinewood.

The new program talks to students about the dangers of using
cannabis, a drug that sometimes gets a reputation of being less
harmful than others.

In high schools, the most problematic drug is weed, said Donna
Modeste, principal of Archbishop Denis O'Connor Catholic High School,
Ajax. The CAMH survey said about 26 per cent of teens admit to using
cannabis, second only to alcohol as the drug of choice for high school kids.

At Denis O'Connor, Ms. Modeste said the most effective drug
prevention strategies are those involving personal stories. The
school recently had a former NFL player in to talk about how his
party lifestyle, including binge drinking, kept him from being the
best football player he could be.

When kids are caught with substances at school, they are required to
get involved with extracurricular activities. The school offers many
diverse groups and teams, so there is a lot to chose from, Ms. Modeste said.

"We see the benefit of getting involved and shaking up (their)
routines," she said.

Interests outside school can go a long way to keeping kids away from
drugs, said Durham Regional Police Constable Jeff Tucker.

Const. Tucker recommends parents keep an eye on who their kids are
hanging out with, how they are dressing, what music they are
listening to, how they speak, whether they are clashing with
authority figures and have a lack of extracurricular activities.

"They're just disconnected and not involved in anything else," said
Const. Tucker.

Friends had a big influence on Rick's decisions when he got out of
his inpatient rehab program. He was successful when he was working
through his issues, said Anne, but once he was home and was hanging
out with his old crew, things deteriorated again.

"It doesn't matter how much you work with (your kids) and how much
you teach them," said Anne. "Sometimes it's who they hang out with."

In the final part of our Wasted Youth series next week, the Metroland
investigative team looks at the difficult job for addictions
counsellors trying to save young clients who deny having a problem
before they hit rock bottom.

-- with files from Jennifer O'Meara