FIRST JOB: GET THE FACTS ON DRUG USE

Angela Lawrence Knows What She Is Getting Into.

"We have to recognize experimentation is a normal part of adolescent
life," says the Kamloops-Thompson School District's new co-ordinator
for drug prevention and intervention, especially in the past 30 years.

"It doesn't mean every one of these people is going to be using drugs
problematically."

The hiring of a co-ordinator was one of the recommendations from a
committee headed by superintendent Terry Sullivan earlier this year in
response to the growing number of drug- and alcohol-related
suspensions in the district.

"Suspensions had tripled over the past five years," Sullivan says of
the need for the committee. "Not much would come of the
recommendations, though, if resources weren't committed. This hiring
is a key step in the recommendations."

Lawrence describes the new position as a bit of a dream job for
her.

"I've been a teacher in Kamloops for the past three years and in
Williams Lake before that. This job combines the school setting with
my other passion - addictions counselling and prevention."

In addition to her teaching jobs, Lawrence had been spending time as
an outreach worker, dealing with youths and families.

"Addiction was almost always an issue, either with the youth or with
the family in some way."

The first step, as she sees it, is to get some baseline data to
determine how large the problem is, what's being used and by whom.

"I don't want people to get the picture of a rampant problem in the
schools," she says. "One kid with a problem is too many."