THE TRUTH ABOUT KIDS AND DRUGS

Are there times when you wonder: How can I recognize signs of drug and
alcohol use in my child?

"If you have asked yourself this question it is important to know that
you are not alone," said Keri Rinehart, project development specialist
for the College of the Rockies. "It's also important to know that
there are upcoming workshops, coordinated by a project called Parents
in Prevention, addressing these questions and focusing on providing
prevention strategies towards youth drug and alcohol abuse," she said.

"In 2002 the East Kootenay Addiction Services noticed an increase in
adolescent referrals for cocaine and other chemical drug use. In
addition, youth accessing the service were expressing concern about
the increased use of drugs such as crack cocaine, ecstasy and crystal
methamphetamine among their peers," Rinehart continued.

"The East Kootenay Adolescent Drug Use Survey in 2002 also found a
number of interesting patterns in adolescent substance use. Not
surprisingly, substance use increases with age, both in terms of
number of substances tried, number of times used, and frequency of
use. "For example, amongst Grade 8 students, 49% had tried alcohol,
14.7% had tried marijuana, 3.5% had tried mushrooms and 2% had tried
cocaine. By Grade 12, 90% had tried alcohol, 66.7% had tried
marijuana, 34.2% had tried mushrooms."

The first workshop, The Lowdown on Our Small Town, will take place at
the College of the Rockies' Kimberley Campus on Thursday, February 19
at 7 pm and will be hosted by a variety of local professionals who
will address the current issues facing youth and focus on providing
participants with effective alcohol and drug prevention methods.

The second workshop, Say It Like It Is, takes place Thursday, March 11
at 7 pm in the Lecture Theatre of the College of the Rockies Cranbrook
Campus and will include a keynote speaker on prevention, presentations
from youth living with addictions and more.

Parents, guardians, family members, friends, and professionals, are
welcome to attend.