STUDENT SUBSTANCE ABUSE LEVELS OFF

For the first time in seven years, drug- and alcohol-related
suspensions within School District 73 have leveled off.

"The good news is that for the first time in seven years there has not
been any increase, the bad news is that there hasn't been any decrease
either," said Superintendent Terry Sullivan.

Statistics about drug and alcohol suspensions will be presented to
trustees at Monday's school board meeting.

"We don't feel that these stats really give us a dead reckoning of the
level of abuse. . . . But it is the only indicator we have right now."

While alcohol stayed fairly stable during the seven-year period -
oscillating around 50 suspensions a year - drug use has increased from
73 suspensions in 1997-98, up to 237 in 2003-04. Total suspensions
peaked at 296 in 2002-03 and dropped by one to 295 in 2003-04.

"Even though it could be leveling off socially - because it looks like
it's doing that across Canada and Australia as well - it still means
that we have to be vigilant," said Angela Lawrence the drug and
alcohol coordinator for the school district. Lawrence, along with
Sullivan and student services director Karl deBruijn, was the impetus
behind the district's new Drug and Alcohol Prevention-Intervention
Action Plan.

The plan calls for a four-pillar approach - prevention, enforcement,
education, and harm reduction - to dealing with drug and alcohol in
schools.

And despite shock stories about crystal meth and other high profile
drugs, the biggest concerns for Lawrence remain alcohol, nicotine and
marijuana.

"Alcohol is more damaging than heroin, cocaine and a lot of other
drugs combined," said Jim Cullen, a University College of the Cariboo
professor who specializes in additions.

"But because [alcohol] is legally sanctioned, and because it's
socially permissible, it doesn't get the attention it deserves.

"Why don't we look at the kids that are barfing their guts out on the
lawns? . . . Let's talk about drinking responsibly."

And Lawrence agrees. The problem, she says, with traditional attempts
to curtail teenage alcohol abuse was the preaching of abstinence.

While adults can drink all they want, kids are told not to drink. And
if they do start drinking, support is unavailable to them because
they're not supposed to be drinking.

"Kids have not had any support around harm reduction," Lawrence
said.

"We know that [kids] are going to drink and some of them are going to
drink quite a bit. Some of them are going to die."

Rather than preach abstinence, Lawrence has adopted a strategy based
on harm reduction.