DRUGS PART III: EDUCATING THE NEXT GENERATION

The battle to keep kids on the straight-and-narrow often includes a display
case that's a smorgasbord of nasty things police have seized from the street.

Marijuana, ecstasy, cocaine and hashish -- once marketed to youth -- are
now safely tucked behind glass like a museum exhibit, a visual aid that
Ottawa Police youth worker Louise Logue uses to talk to kids about the
dangers of drugs.

She brings her showcase to high schools and universities, to show parents
what is out there.

The fact is, there's an increasing availability of more potent drugs that
are easier to obtain, partly because of a rise in street gangs who traffic
the stuff, and partly because kids have more money to buy it.

"Drugs are an equal opportunity affliction," Logue says. "Kids who have
more money buy more drugs and more expensive drugs. Thirty per cent of kids
have tried them. It's naive to think that because you live in a nice
neighbourhood, you won't have a problem."

"We have to be very active as a community to prevent drug use," she adds.
"Parents are the first line of defence. You have to keep the lines of
communication open."

AS YOUNG AS 10

In recent years, Logue said she's been getting calls about children as
young as 10 who have developed a drug habit. They're usually kids who have
been given more freedom than they can handle at too early an age, she says.

"I deal with kids who stay up all night at parties," says Logue. "I deal
with kids who trade sexual favours for drugs. This is 100 per cent of my
work. I don't get to see a lot of the good side."

Logue's goal is to equip parents with as much information as she can so
they can fight their own little war on drugs.

Information is power and, often, kids have a better idea of how the laws
work than their parents do, she says. The one thing mom and dad often
forget is that they have rights as parents.

At information sessions she holds with parents, Logue tells them that,
until the age of 16, parents are legally responsible for their children.
That includes putting a roof over their children's heads AND being able to
set whatever curfew time they like. Also under a parent's power is the
recourse they have under Ontario's Child and Family Services Act.

The act sets a provincial curfew exists for kids under 16, to keep them off
the street between midnight and 6 a.m. if they're not with a responsible
adult. If a parent wakes up to discover their child is not asleep, but has
instead slipped out to party, they can get police involved.

Parents whose children are under the age of 16 don't have to wait 24 hours
to put in a missing persons report. After a call to the police for a case
number, a parent can apply with a justice of the peace for an apprehension
warrant.

The warrant lets an officer pick a missing child off the street, throw them
into the back of a cruiser and take them home. Police can also knock down
doors to retrieve a child if they know the kid they're looking for is
inside the building.

CIGARETTES & ALCOHOL

According to a province-wide survey conducted every second year by the
Institute for Social Research at York University, the number of kids who
tried illicit drugs in 2003 -- the most-recent survey year -- declined.

When marijuana use is removed from the equation, only 15.3 per cent of the
students surveyed had tried something from the long menu of items included
under the category of "illicit" drugs. That number doubled when marijuana
was thrown into the pot.

As a rule, boys are more apt to try something than girls. The exception is
in the use of cigarettes, solvents and the non-medicinal use of stimulants
like diet pills. Between Grade 7 and Grade 12, 20.3 per cent of the girls
surveyed smoked, while only 18 per cent of the boys lit up.

Cigarette use for Grade 7-12 students actually fell from 28 per cent to 19
per cent in the last survey year, while LSD use dropped from 6.8 per cent
to 2.9 per cent.

The use of hallucinogens also dropped to one in 10, while Methamphetamine
use went down by 1.7 per cent to 3.3 per cent. Barbituate use also fell to
2.5 per cent from the previous 4.4 per cent mark.

Not surprisingly, the use of solvents and glue also decreases as kids get
older -- replacing stuff they can find around the house with stuff they can
get on the street. This includes alcohol, by far, the most common "drug."

The province-wide survey, known as the OSDUS Drug Report, showed that 66.2
per cent of teens imbibed. Locally, the evidence usually shows up in a
neighbourhood park the next morning as empties.

"Alcohol is the most abused drug for that age group," said Angela Buffone,
a public health nurse with the city. "It's a big issue for teens in Ottawa.
We try to work with students to help them create and maintain OSAID
(Ontario Students Against Impaired Driving) groups."

Several local schools have created their own OSAID chapters, including St.
Matthew and St. Peter high schools. Both preach about the dangers of booze,
while Cairine Wilson Secondary School students are trying to get a group
started, Buffone said.

While the health department is concentrating its efforts on alcohol, they
may be ramping up towards a marijuana education campaign.

Ottawa Police's drug unit doesn't have an education program of its own,
said Staff Sgt. Marc Pinault, who heads up the squad.

"It's a hole I'd love to be able to fill," said Pinault. "Right now, we
don't have the ability to do it. We have to rely on the school resource
officers to tell us about the different trends."

Police school resources officers like Const. Sue Mcgowan have tried to
reach students at an earlier age. So far, most of her contact with students
when it comes to drugs has been at the Grade 6 level.

"It's one lecture where you do get a lot of questions," Mcgowan says. "I
usually ask them if they've tried it or know someone who has tried drugs.
That way, they feel more comfortable putting their hands up if it's them."

For older students who have already experimented with some of the things
out there, Mcgowan says she brings in speakers from places like Rideauwood
Addiction & Family Services. She says she's also tried to develop contacts
with the RCMP to make sure kids get the right information.

"We're trying to get the message out there," says Mcgowan. "If they're on
the fence, maybe they'll step back and think about it...When I was going
through school, I don't remember (getting) any drug education at all."