MINORITY OF TEENS USE DRUGS: SURVEY

Statistics do not support the "everybody's doing it" attitude of today's teens,
says an adolescent addictions counsellor with AADAC.

Chris Windle presented the Lethbridge school board with a summary of Alberta
Youth Experience Survey Tuesday.

"There are more youth that don't use drugs than youth that do use," said
Windle. It's an important message that needs to reach those teens who feel peer
pressure to participate in drug experimentation and, ultimately, abuse.

The survey involved 3,394 students in Grades 7 to 12 from across Alberta
including Lethbridge on issues surrounding alcohol, tobacco, drug and gambling
behaviour among teens. It's the first survey of its kind since 1989 and Windle
said the Alberta Alcohol and Drug Abuse Commission plans to repeat the
provincewide study every two years in order to develop statistics on trends.

It found alcohol and marijuana are the drugs of choice among Alberta teens and
56.3 per cent of youth in Grades 7 to 12 used alcohol in the past year. The
rates rocket to 75.4 per cent for teens in Grades 10 to 12.

Risk and protective factors show connection or disconnection to schools can be
key indicators of whether a youth is at risk of developing addictions.