KIDS TRADING SEX FOR DRUGS

Youth sex parties are going on in Abbotsford, but officials stress it
stems from a larger problem. At a roundtable with the Times on
Wednesday, two Abbotsford school board trustees and superintendent Des
McKay said the real issue facing society is the casual use of drugs
among youth.

They say it's the reason they held a forum March 16 called Drug Crisis
in Abbotsford, but they're disappointed sex parties have taken the
spotlight.

Sex parties, as described by Nathan, a Grade 10 student interviewed
outside an Abbotsford school on Wednesday, are where "a shitload of
kids try various drugs and basically do what they want. In the end
some of the guys will see if the girls want drugs for sex."

McKay stressed that only a fraction of kids are taking part in the
parties.

"It's not anywhere close to being an epidemic," he said. "It's not
related to any one school. I think it's grown more popular in the past
five years.

"What is an epidemic is the casual use of drugs. I think we have a
crisis and . . . we want to make people aware the problem, because if
you don't see a problem, it's very difficult to solve it," said McKay,
adding that drug use among youth is an issue facing the whole country,
not just Abbotsford.

McKay said he was "shocked" to learn about the sex parties, and school
board chairwoman Joanne Field called them "a form of sexual
exploitation."

Six of nine students interviewed by the Times didn't know the parties
existed.

"It was really shocking," said Chaylene, 15. "I've never heard of
them."

However, of that same group of students, six have had sex and tried
marijuana. That includes Chaylene, who lost her virginity at 13.

"It's really casual now - a lot more casual than when I was in Grade
8," said the Grade 11 student. "The young girls now go around sleeping
with everybody."

School board trustee Uultsje DeJong said, "Oral sex is like kissing to
them. It is."

An Abbotsford high school counsellor who sat in on Wednesday's
roundtable said sex and drugs "have always been in our high schools."

The difference today, he says, is the acceptance and tolerance toward
it.

DeJong agreed.

"I've had parents come up to me and ask, 'How can I teach my kids to
use drugs safely?' " he said, shaking his head. "This has happened
more than once. I mean, you can't [teach them about using drugs safely]."

The officials say the key to solving the problem is raising community
awareness and educating youth better.

"We as a community have a problem, and as a community we need to
address it and the first step is awareness," said McKay. "The board
made a bold step to bring this topic to the forefront, and it was done
with kids in mind."

What do the kids have to say?

We took a sampling of random high school kids and asked them about sex
and drugs

Kayla, a Grade 10 student, estimates half of the girls who attend her
Abbotsford school are no longer virgins.

She admits she's a member of the non-virgin group, explaining she
first had sex in September.

Her friend, Jessica, lost her virginity in Grade 9.

"It wasn't a big deal," said Kayla, 15, on Wednesday outside of her
school. "You hear all this stuff about guys and how all they want is
sex, so I did it with a close friend I feel very comfortable with, who
I knew wasn't using me."

The pair say it's just a matter of young girls trying to fit in.

"It's totally the peer pressure that's put on us females," said Kayla.
"I know way more males that are virgins than females."

The pair also have experience when it comes to drugs.

Kayla has smoked marijuana, but says she isn't going to use any other
drugs.

Jessica, on the other hand, has tried pot and ecstasy, and says she'll
try anything for the first time.

Nathan, also in Grade 10, chimes in: "I've done so much in my life
it's insane."

This includes cocaine and crystal meth, he says reluctantly as he
rocks back and forth on his BMX.

Nearby, Shawn skateboards by himself in the back of the school's
parking lot.

He is more shy than Kayla, Jessica and Nathan, and says he doesn't
really think much about sex or drugs.

"I just stick to skateboarding," he said.

At a different Abbotsford school on Thursday, kids' responses
varied.

John, a Grade 9 student, has never had sex or tried pot. He estimates
only 15 per cent of the kids at his school have tried drugs.

"I don't think it's that common," he said.

In another group, Kurtis, a Grade 11 student, says John is out to
lunch.

"I think it's pretty common," said Kurtis, who lost his virginity at
15. "That's the way things are now."