DRUG ABUSE PROGRAM FOR KIDS

Kids as young as eight in Surrey elementary schools are learning how to
avoid becoming substance abusers - hopefully before they've made the
decision to try drugs and alcohol.

Eight local schools are currently piloting a program aimed at Grade 4 to 7
students. The initiative began late last month.

Safe schools manager Theresa Campbell explained the Surrey-developed
program is unique because it does more than just talk about drugs and their
consequences.

"It teaches the steps to prevention - self-esteem, respect, responsibility
- - and then leads into the decision making, as both factors apply to
substance abuse prevention," she said. "It's really starting at the ground
level, developing those skills and attitudes. It's not so much about the
drugs, it's about decision making for our intermediate students."

The intermediate school program falls in line with the city's four-pillar
drug plan proposed early last month. The draft document is based on
prevention, education, treatment and enforcement - with a strong focus on
youth.

Campbell, who's also a member of Surrey's Drug Crime Task Force, says
research shows kids are experimenting earlier.

Statistics from Prevention Source B.C. (1997) show 77 per cent of students
try alcohol before they hit high school, while 34 per cent try marijuana,
59 per cent smoking, and 15 per cent, LSD.

What have schools been doing to address the issue?

"For the most part, at the elementary level, I would say it was pretty
close to nothing," Campbell said. "That whole elementary shift has been
recent for most school districts ..."

A lot of people concentrated on bringing those reality-based speakers in
Grade 8 and 9."

While the high-impact, one-shot presentations such as showing students a
toned down version of the gritty documentary Through The Blue Lens are
effective, they don't stick, said Campbell. (The film depicts the grim
reality of street life on Vancouver's Downtown Eastside.)

"Most research tells us that in order for these prevention programs to
work, they have to be taught over a number of years so that learning can be
reinforced and the kids have an opportunity to internalize the concepts
that have been presented."

Also key in the process is parent participation.

The curriculum contains suggestions to teachers about how to increase
parental involvement and foster discussions around drug abuse prevention,
helping parents reinforce what's been taught that day.

"It always comes down to parents as partners," Campbell said.