STUDENTS SAY COCAINE EASILY ACCESSIBLE

Youths who use cocaine can access the drug easily and quickly in
Bracebridge, say three students at Bracebridge and Muskoka Lakes Secondary
School (BMLSS).

The three students, who spoke on condition that their names won't be
published, all agreed that the now trendy drug has been used by several
current Grade 12 BMLSS students, mostly at parties. One of the three
students who spoke to the Examiner suggested some students might use
cocaine during their spares.

Access to the drug is not a problem, he indicated.

"If you asked someone at school for some at 10 in the morning, you would
have it by the end of the day," he stated.

A second BMLSS student agreed that cocaine is mainly used at parties, or
off school premises. He first noticed fellow students using cocaine when he
was in Grade 10. Since then, he has noticed its use has slowly increased.

A third BMLSS student said it was "insanely easy" to get cocaine in
Bracebridge. There are a group of BMLSS students who are casual users of
the drug, who could also be dealing it on the side, he indicated. "They get
it from university students or city students," he said, when asked where
the drug is coming from. "I've definitely noticed it at parties," he added.
"There are the odd couple of kids who go off in a corner and do cocaine."

The student said he is aware of two cocaine drug dealers who are currently
Grade 12 students at the school. He could not say for certain if the drug
is being dealt on school property.

One of the three students interviewed estimated that between 15 and 20 per
cent of the school's Grade 12 students last year had used the drug. The
urge to try cocaine could be a result of the culture youth today are
soaking up, he indicated.

BMLSS principal Peter Elliott said his school's teachers and custodians
were not aware of any instance of cocaine use by students at the school.
Furthermore, none had heard of cocaine use by students outside of school,
after school hours, he added.

"That doesn't mean it's not out there," said Elliott. "But it's not, in my
estimation, an evident problem at the school."

After being contacted by the Examiner, Elliott contacted several BMLSS
teachers who teach senior students, to ask if they had heard of incidents
of cocaine use by students. Elliott confirmed that the teachers had not
heard of any incidents.

Cocaine is a pretty serious drug, said Elliott. Because of this, students
may be a little less forthcoming about its use, he indicated.

"I think that drug/cocaine use is probably a part of provincial society,"
said Elliott. "There's probably a margin of use of cocaine in every town.
Inevitably, some of our youth would be drawn into that."

Elliott was quick to point out the importance of making students aware that
help exists right at the school for those who may be using the drug.

Every Wednesday, an Addiction Outreach Muskoka representative works in the
school's guidance office, he said. The principal recommended that students
who use cocaine should contact the school's student services department and
use its services for help.

So is cocaine becoming a bigger problem in Bracebridge?

Jamie Ciotka, the Ontario Provincial Police Huronia Combined Forces Drug
Unit commander, recently checked the Bracebridge OPP detachment's records
and confirmed there has not been a large increase in cocaine coming into
the Bracebridge area.

A total of about one ounce of cocaine had been seized by the OPP detachment
in the six months up until October, he told the Examiner. However, he
admitted that cocaine is a more accessible drug than it once was.

If cocaine was becoming prevalent in the Bracebridge area, it would have
been discovered more often during police searches, he explained.

Ciotka, however, has seen cocaine make a progression northward. In the last
10 years, cocaine was found primarily in larger cities like Toronto and
Barrie, he noted. But nowadays, he said, "Bracebridge sounds like every
other small town within southern and central Ontario."

At between $80 and $120 per gram, cocaine or crack cocaine is still much
pricier than a gram of marijuana, which runs about $20, he said.

In explaining how the drug becomes accessible to rural areas such as
Bracebridge, Ciotka cited the Town's close proximity to Highway 11 and its
connection with the Trans-Canada Highway. Drug dealers who ship large
quantities of cocaine into Pearson Airport can easily access Bracebridge
and other towns via this route.

During a November 2 search of a vehicle at the Muskoka Tourism Centre on
Highway 11 police found 50 grams of a substance believed to be cocaine.

A rise in cocaine use among young people can also be attributed to the drug
being "more trendy," Ciotka said. The drug has become more popular among
high school-age youths than it once was, he admitted.