GETTING HIGH WITHOUT EVER LEAVING HOME (PART II)

In the first of this two-part series on teenage drug abuse in the
Brighton area, local addict "Joe" (whose real name we chose to
protect) shared his knowledge about the street drug scene. In part
two, Pharmacist Gary Lutz is worried about drug users sharing dirty
needles; and Peterborough Aids Resource Network (PARN) Education
Coordinator Charles Shamus says needle exchange programs work.

Just over 10 years ago, Brighton pharmacist Gary Lutz tried to get
support for a needle exchange program for his community and the
surrounding area. At the time, nobody was interested in backing his
plan.

" I applied to Health Services in Peterborough for a needle exchange.
They simply didn't give it to us," he said. "I know the PharmaPlus in
Trenton has one now, but that would be the closest (to Brighton)."

Lutz is caught in an moral predicament. He can either sell the needles
to people who might use them to inject drugs, or he can choose to send
them on their way. But prohibiting users from buying syringes could
have drastic consequences. They might decide to share needles with
other users, and that's something that scares Lutz. " I can refuse the
sale of anything. But if I refuse to sell a needle to someone, then I
might be responsible for the spread of HIV or Hepatitis C," said Lutz.
"It's bad enough to have drug abuse in our community, but I don't want
to be the one responsible for adding disease."

For anyone who may think he's adding to the problem, Lutz says firmly
that he "does not believe in promoting drug abuse (and) will not sell
needles to (young teens)."

Needle exchange programs have begun in Northumberland County since
Lutz made efforts to start one a decade ago, says Charles Shamus,
Education Coordinator for the Peterborough Aids Resource Network (PARN).

Shamus says that, since Lutz began his quest, needle exchanges have
become "a mandatory program under the Ministry of Health (provided)
the need is demonstrated or made obvious somehow."

After conducting cooperative research in 1997-98 with police,
pharmacists, people infected with HIV, and addicts themselves, the
Four County Needle Exchange Coalition (FCNEC) was launched in August,
1999. The coalition consists of the Peterborough and Haliburton,
Kawartha, Pine Ridge District Health Units, the Four Counties
Addiction Services Team (4CAST), the Centre for Addiction Mental
Health (CAMH), PARN and other community partners.

Shamus says their use of illegal drugs make addicts a "hard to reach,
hard to serve population," which may explain why only 4,000 needles
were exchanged at participating sites in Haliburton, Minden, Cobourg,
Port Hope and Peterborough during FCNEC's first year. But last year,
about 100,000 needles were exchanged, 95 per cent of them in the two
Peterborough locations.

Information about needle exchange programs is available by calling
Shamus toll-free at PARN, 1-800-361-2895.

Meanwhile, Joe feels that what he perceives to be a lack of concern by
teachers and staff at the high school level may lead young users to
believe that they can get away with it while attending classes. He
said teachers are presented with the symptoms of drug use often, but
fail to do anything about it.

" There are a lot of kids who go to class stoned and the teachers know
it . We're talking about middle-class normal high school kids," he
said.

Joe's perceptions are supported by the March 2003 report of the Joint
Task Force on Youth Opportunities in the Riding of Northumberland,
commissioned by the office of MP Paul Macklin and authored by former
Director of Social Services for the County of Northumberland Carolyn
Campbell.

" Many students openly discussed the problem of substance abuse and
drug use on school property and were concerned that they perceived
little or no action being taken," Campbell stated in her report.
"Incidents of homemade chemical substances being passed around, pot
smoking on school property in plain view of authorities and kids
coming to class exhibiting the effects of illicit drugs were related
by several individuals from different schools."

ENSS Vice-Principal Don MacIntosh is aware that drugs are present in
his school. If there is a prevalent drug, it would be marijuana. But,
having worked as a Vice-Principal in Peel and Dufferin/Peel schools he
can also say that the prevalence of drugs at ENSS is less than
anywhere else he has been.

" It's not as bad here as in Mississauga or Brampton," he
said.

MacIntosh said ENSS has less tolerance for drugs than any other school
at which he has worked. And he disagrees with Joe's belief that
teachers and administrators do nothing when drug abuse is discovered
on school property.

" This school, more than any other school, is very quick to react to
even the suggestion of drugs. Staff are very good about sending (kids
down to the office) or picking out kids. If they have that odour about
them, then we send them home," he said. "A more serious occurrence
like being caught with drugs involves a 10-day suspension and 5 hours
of drug counselling. We don't simply punish the student - we try to be
pro-active."

ENSS is establishing a new method for taking attendance which
MacIntosh believes will help reduce drug use at school, during school
hours. With 1,200 students attending four classes per day, that makes
4,800 attendance records per day that must be completed; and that
means it takes time to see who's missing. This month, the school
launched a new attendance system that will flag missing students
immediately.

A child's attendance and marks usually directly co-relate with the
time when they start using drugs, said MacIntosh. In previous schools
where he has implemented the new system, absenteeism dropped from 10
to 4 per cent.

" Kids who miss class will be flagged pretty quick. A call to the
parents on the same day and the parent will need to provide a note
explaining a child's absence," he said. "If a parent finds out their
child is cutting class, then they can discipline a child accordingly.
The system can help flag kids who are just beginning to use drugs. It
might not help the hard-core kids who have been using for some time
already."

Like Constable Jamie Stone and Joe, MacIntosh believes that parents
should play an active role in helping their child grow up drug-free.
When a child is sent home or an absence is reported, it becomes the
job of the parents to provide the best guidance they can.

" Parents need to understand the little signs that their children are
not doing well," he said. "Skipping class and dropping grades are some
of the first ones."