BROCHURE TO HELP PARENTS COPE WITH KIDS' DRUG USE

The Northumberland Drug Action Committee hopes a brochure will help parents
deal effectively with alcohol and drug abuse among teenagers in, which
statistics show is on the rise in Ontario.

According to a study done by the Haliburton, Kawartha, Pine Ridge District
Health Unit which interviewed 300 students in Northumberland County, this
area is no different. Nearly three-quarters of the students said the area
had a drug problem, NDAC chair Lisa van der Vinne stated in a release.

The brochure was unveiled Nov. 10 at St. Mary's Secondary School in
Cobourg. It was developed to help parents identify potential drug use by
their children and where to look to for assistance, NDAC past-chair Janet
Leadbeater said. In many cases parents do not know where to go to for help.

The brochure is aimed at parents, Brian Mitchell of the Centre for
Addictions and Mental Health said, but St. Mary's Grade 12 student Alysia
Bevan says students can benefit from it, too.

"Students sometimes think they can't go to their parents when they have a
drug problem," she said. "This provides more discreet ways they can get help."

Drugs are widely accepted and easily accessible for students in Cobourg,
Ms. Bevan said. In many cases it is not considered a problem, but rather a
way of life.

"Drugs are everywhere," she said. "People accept it, which isn't really a
good thing."

Darlene Theriault, the parent of a teenager who has a drug addiction, drove
home the point Northumberland is not drug-free. Ms. Theriault said she has
been involved in the fight against drugs for a few years.

"My family waged a personal goal against drugs -- we lost," she said. "We
lost and drugs took over the life of one of my children."

The brochure provides an opportunity to encourage parents to try to resolve
the problem, rather than hide it in fear of public embarrassment, Ms.
Theriault said.

"It is embarrassing for us to admit were failures as parents to keep drugs
away from our children," she said. "It is hard in a small town to find help."

Information to where help is available makes the brochure vital, Ms.
Theriault said. Quick answers are what a parent needs when suspecting drug
use by their children.

"If you think you have to read about it, then you may have a problem," she
said. "This is not going to be my last fight with drugs."

Because of a $2,000 grant given to NDAC by the Ontario Association of
Chiefs of Police, 25,000 copies of the brochure will be distributed
throughout Northumberland. This does not mean copies will be sent home to
parents, Mr. Mitchell said. It is the parent's responsibility to pick up a
copy themselves.

"We would like to see this get into the hands of parents," he said.
"Sometimes the issue of drug use gets raised by another issue."

Some issues include a drop of interest in school and family or a change in
a child's behaviour, he said. Often these signs indicate drug use.

When drug use is suspected by a parent, the brochure will be the first
thing pulled out, St. Mary's vice-principal Stephen Smith said. Denial
about the problem will make drug addictions more difficult to treat.

"Sometimes the concerns of the parent are not so much about helping the
child, but keeping the problem as low-key as possible," he said. "My role
here as a disciplinarian is to help your child. Part of the learning
process is outside the text book."