KIDS SHOW DRUGS UNCOOL

A survey that has found higher use of drugs among Northern Ontario students
compared to the provincial average is a signal to parents, educators and
the community as a whole that more has to be done to educate youth about
the harm they are doing themselves.

More than that, the survey itself could be a valuable tool in bringing the
message home.

The 2003 Ontario Student Drug Use Survey, released by the Centre of
Addiction and Mental Health this week, shows that Northern teens are
smoking tobacco and marijuana more than their southern counterparts, doing
more binge drinking, and zapping their brains more with cocaine, crack,
ecstasy and hallucinogens as a whole.

They are also abusing Ritalin for non-medical purposes more frequently.
Perhaps most disturbing of all, they are using Rohypnol more than twice the
provincial average - that's the so-called "date-rape drug" that losers slip
into drinks so they can sexually assault drowsy victims who lose memory of
the episode.

Researchers admit the results may not be definitive because the data could
be a "blip" or a "one-time change" rather than showing a pattern over
several survey periods.

True enough. But since the pointers all swing in the same direction for
several substances, chances are they do reveal a trend - at least, among
the current crop of adolescents.

Certainly, the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health is right when it sees
this as a warning to keep a close watch.

One of the explanations researchers offer for the huge difference in
results from Northern Ontario and the Greater Toronto Area is that the
latter has a higher proportion of recent immigrants, who are generally less
likely to use drugs.

That's one possible cultural component, but it's not likely the only one.

Another cultural reality is that adults in Northern Ontario have a much
higher incidence of substance abuse - particularly tobacco and alcohol -
than their southern cousins. That could contribute to an overall atmosphere
of tolerance for drugs: monkey see, monkey do.

Northern adults have to consider that in addition to hurting themselves
they could be damaging the next generation, which is emulating their behaviour.

Besides giving better example, adults could take a greater active role in
educating youth to the dangers of substance abuse. That's a job for
everyone, from the home to the school to public health experts.

The survey results provide another cultural pointer that might make such
campaigns more effective. Researchers say the results are so skewed not
because drug abuse is rising precipitously in the North, but rather that
the rate of decline is not as steep as it is in the south.

In other words, Northern teens are behind the wave. The big-city
cosmopolitan kids have been quicker to see that blasting your brain is uncool.

What promoters of healthy lifestyle choices need to show adolescents in the
North is that they are being viewed as backwoods rubes because they are
still indulging in old-fashioned abuse.

As the tobacco battle has shown, tonnes of well-intentioned health
advisories pale in effectiveness compared to a smattering of peer pressure.