EDUCATE YOUTH ABOUT RECREATIONAL DRUGS

Educators across Algoma are wisely reinforcing their warnings about
recreational drug use after two youths died in Timmins from apparent
ingestion of a pharmaceutical. Parents have to do the same, using the
shocking deaths to point out that teens are not invincible and that
taking substances procured on the street is deadly dangerous.

The two young men in Timmins, one 17 and the other 19, are believed to
have succumbed after using a prescription drug that was not prescribed
for them. Another youth has been charged with manslaughter after
investigators said they discovered that red pills containing a
time-released morphine compound were distributed in the area.

The first message to teens must remain a general warning to avoid all
mind-altering drugs, from alcohol to street drugs to prescription
pills. Even if they don't kill you outright, they can contribute to
dangerous conditions that can injure or kill you in the longer term.

But youth being what it is, chances are that many teens will at least
experiment with substances. They have to be given specific education
about which dangers rank highest, and why.

We need to make youngsters realize that they don't know what they are
getting in street drugs. Besides the dangers of the substances
themselves, there is no way to gauge contamination with anything from
feces to deadly chemicals -- inadvertent or deliberate, as might
happen if the added material were a more potent or addictive second
drug.

After all, it's not as though illicit substances are being subjected
to rigorous government inspection.

Some teens might also be under the mistaken impression that it is much
safer to take pharmaceuticals made by reputable manufacturers and
prescribed for someone else. They need to be reminded that public
safety is the reason these substances are supposed to be used only
under a doctor's care. There could be underlying health or genetic
conditions that make a drug dangerous for one person though it is safe
for another. The same applies to people already taking medication for
another condition -- adding something else to the mix could be very
harmful.

Dosage is critical.

The method of taking a drug is also important. Some can have
unintended effects if they are tampered with, such as breaking a
time-release capsule.

Two people have already died much too young. Using their tragedy to
educate others might help prevent repetitions.