DRUG USE CLIMBING

Editor's Note: This is the first in a series focusing on drug abuse.

Doug Rogers is worried about student drug use.

"They are using more and what they are using is more harmful. They don't
know what they are getting."

As School District 22 Drug and Alcohol Prevention Counsellor, he makes it
his business to know the local drug scene.

One of the most popular street drugs is the stimulant Ecstasy which causes
irreversible chemical changes in the brain. But most people who think they
are buying Ecstasy are really getting something else which could include
paint thinner and bathroom cleaners. Some sellers add crystal meth as an
invisible starter to addiction.

Crystal meth, one of the most highly addictive substances, is also being
added to marijuana to recruit new addicts. This makes for lifelong
customers because the recovery rate from crystal meth addiction is less
than 10 per cent due to permanent brain damage.

"If your kid goes out the door Monday morning and does meth, your same
child will not come back to you. In Vernon, nine out of 10 Ecstasy pills
contain something else. Some parents don't worry too much about marijuana
because they may have tried it and didn't get addicted but marijuana is so
much stronger than it used to be."

Rogers said students may be able to do drugs and keep up regular activities
for a while but the changes will show up. Parents should look for changes
in attitude and behaviour, giving up things previously enjoyed, like
sports, having different friends and staying out more. He sees parents as
an important part of drug education. As the father of three young children,
he thinks it's never too soon to start educating children.

"How often do you talk to kids about manners? Until they get it. My
three-year-old knows that proper medicine is what the doctor gives you when
you are sick and it is only for the person the doctor says should have it,
it is not good for anyone else. You talk to kids more as they are able to
understand," he said.

"Take every opportunity for education, including safe use of household
products. Older children can learn more about the harmful effects of
smoking, alcohol and drugs and genetic predisposition to addiction. If you
tell kids the truth, they'll get it. We need to be involved in our kids'
lives in a positive way."

He said parents should be particularly concerned about what their children
are doing after school from 3 to 5 p.m.

"We need to provide alternatives with clubs, sports and after-school
activities. Every principal in the district has a fund to pay part or all
of the cost of participating in school sports so that finances are no
barrier to anyone."

He knows prevention education will never cost as much as treatment and
support for people who can't work because of addictions, not counting the
loss of human potential.

"We are not getting these people back. We have to get kids to understand
that when they are taking drugs, they don't know what they are putting into
their bodies and what the effects will be now and in the future. Make them
think about if the choices they are making now are going to give them the
future they want."