STREET CORNER, HIGH SCHOOL EASY PLACES TO SCORE DRUGS

BUYING pot in Winnipeg is as easy as asking around at high school or
at well-known street locations, say teenagers.

Youth hanging out in Osborne Village and near Portage Place Shopping
Centre on Wednesday afternoon said finding the drug is a snap.

In some parts of the city, like the well-trafficked corner of River
Avenue and Osborne Street known as the Circle, dealers often hit up
passing pedestrians to see if they're looking to buy.

The area is known to neighbourhood residents and police alike -- this
past May, nine people, mostly teens, were arrested for alleged drug
trafficking near the corner.

When a reporter visited the area Wednesday night, one young man
circling the area on a bicycle made two apparent sales in just two
minutes, first darting behind a convenience store with one
20-something customer before meeting up with another older man at the
nearby bus stop.

In both cases, small packages clearly changed hands. One exchange
happened in plain view on the sidewalk, with the seller glancing left
and right to see who might be watching.

Another youth who'd been hanging out at a nearby picnic table cycled
down the street five minutes later, discreetly palming a tiny package
to a passerby who was talking on his cellphone.

For young people who want pot but don't want to buy on the street,
high schools apparently offer abundant covert opportunities to score.

"Everybody's kind of got it," said Stephan, 17, who lives in Fort Garry.

He doesn't buy pot, but if he wanted to, the teen wouldn't have to
leave the comfort of his high school. He said it would be as easy as
asking a friend where they could get some.

"I would very much assume that there would be some people in school
that are selling it," he said.

Stephan isn't sure how many of his classmates have tried marijuana,
or smoke it regularly, but he guesses at 20 to 25 per cent.

The fact that a study released Wednesday shows most teens have tried
cigarettes, drugs and alcohol by the time they hit 14 doesn't shock
one Teen Touch volunteer, who fields calls from concerned teens --
and their parents -- at the 24-hour help line.

"I don't think that would surprise me," said Amy, a 22-year-old who
declined to give her last name for confidentiality purposes.

Amy said drug experimentation among teens is nothing new. When she
was in high school a few years ago, "pretty much everybody I knew had
tried something," she said.

But she said part of the problem with marijuana is a perception among
young people that the drug is less harmful and addictive than cigarettes.