WHY ARE DRUGS CONSIDERED COOL?

Drugs are no longer only a big city problem.

The acceptance of drug use is ever increasing in today's society. If anyone
thinks Vanderhoof is an exception all they have to do is talk candidly with
some high school students, and it soon becomes clear this is not the case.

This is exactly what the Express decided to do. We interviewed a cross
section of the student population. This group included students of various
age groups, races and levels of drug experience. Their names have been
changed, but this is what they had to say about drug use in our town.

One student who moved here from Vancouver pointed out that drug use is
worse in Vanderhoof among teens than in the city. Marijuana is the drug of
choice. It is easy to get and considered harmless. In fact many teenagers
don't even consider it a real drug. For most it falls in the same category
as using alcohol and is thought of as better than smoking.

"Pot is very easily accessible," Brittany said. "You just have to go
outside at anytime and it is there."

"With alcohol you need to have money, with drugs it is not necessary, you
can get it now and owe them," Mary pointed out.

According to the students, what people get into is directly related to who
they are hanging around. The consensus was that most younger kids are
smoking pot, drinking and experimenting with mushrooms. It is not until
they start to get a little older and hang around with an older crowd that
they move on to other things.

Still they all agreed if you wanted it, you could get it. For the most
part, there isn't a drug you can't get access to in Vanderhoof. If it is
not available here it is as simple as going to Prince George or Fort St.
James to buy it.

The list was a long one. It included alcohol, pot, mushrooms, cocaine,
crack, crystal meth, speed, heroin, just to name a few.

The teens agreed that for the most part experimenting with drugs was not
replacing drinking, but it was considered a great way to pass a boring
evening in Vanderhoof. In fact boredom was the number one reason given for
getting stoned or drunk.

"It makes things more interesting when there is nothing to do," Betty
explained.

"This town is so boring but if you are drunk or stoned it is so much more
fun," Trix said.

Of course along with all this fun comes trouble.

"When people are drunk they get rowdy and start trouble," Paul said.
"That's when you see windows broken and stuff like that."

Another common reason given for using was that people are more accepting of
drug use.

"Times are changing," Chelsea said. "Parents are much more lenient."

They said part of the problem is a lack of enforcement around town. This
includes the police, teachers and parents.

"One of the reasons I use so much is because my parents aren't strict
enough," Trix explained. "I party every week night, I skip school and then
I sleep all weekend and they don't do anything."

The group added that the police are no tougher if they catch them with
marijuana than they would be with alcohol. In most cases they just take the
joint and send them on the way. The teens added that there is always more
around the corner.

Hand-in-hand with this new acceptance is a decrease in the age of kids who
are trying drugs for the first time.

"When we were in Grade 7 no one used to think about it, now they are
smoking pot," Spanky said.

Luckily, most agreed the dealers do not sell to young people. Unfortunately
this does not mean young kids can't get access to the drug, it is as simple
as getting someone to buy it for them. They added that a lot of the time it
is easier to get than alcohol.

Drug use among youth is divided into groups. Who you hang around with can
determine what you do.

The consensus is that pot is okay and very accepted, almost to the point of
being glorified. Part of the reason for this is that there are fewer risks
related to pot, such as overdoses.

"To me pot is not a big deal, it is not really harsh. It is way better than
a lot because you can't overdose on it, it just makes things more fun,"
Mary said. "If you are on pot you are not impaired, it doesn't change your
judgment."

In fact, they pointed out that smoking cigarettes is considered a worse
habit than smoking marijuana, they described it as a smelly dirty habit.

When it comes to the other drugs, it is something you do with other people
who use. It is not something that is really discussed or done in the open.
But even this rule is not written in stone.

Brittany said with the group she hangs around it is nothing for people to
do a line of coke in front of everyone, the people she knows would not
sneak to a back room as described by the other teens. Trix agrees with
this, she said most of the people she hangs around are into the more
serious drugs and no one really hides anything.

Paul said he once saw a friend overdose from three grams of mushrooms. He
said this really scared him because it shows that with drugs you never know
what could happen.

Most of the teens interviewed said there is a nothing anyone can say or do
that will stop someone from trying drugs.

"It's a bad situation but there is nothing anyone can do about it," Cheeba
said. "You make your own choices."

"There are some people who have gone too far," Mary said.

"It makes me sick to my stomach to see them throwing away their lives like
that," Betty said.

The teens agreed it is not all doom and gloom. They said most teens don't
have a problem with drugs, they just enjoy using them. "It is up to us to
set our own limits," Allison said.

"You always have to have a limit," Mary said. "You have to be able to make
something of your life."

"You have to know what you want to do or be," Paul said. "You can throw
your life away with hard drugs like cocaine, with a doobie at least no one
has ever died."

They said there are a lot of teens who choose not to use any drugs. For the
most part these are ones who are involved in activities and sports. Of the
30 students asked by the Express if they use drugs or alcohol, four said no
and three of these gave sports as the reason.

Paul thinks there are programs that would discourage people from getting
mixed up with drugs, "D.A.R.E. is helping younger kids, it seems to prepare
them better." Most of the group said they thought there was not much that
they could have been told that would have stopped them from using.

Spanky said if someone had told him he would be just barely graduating and
would have given up his chance to go to college or university because he
smoked too much pot then he would never have started. He said although that
is easy to say now he really felt it would have kept him from choosing to
smoke pot instead of attending classes.

Another problem the teens said they face is that they feel they have
nowhere to turn. They said part of this is because it is a small town and
this makes it hard to ask for help with out everyone talking.

They said when you go for help the people just tell them what they already
know, they don't really offer them solutions.

Trix said another problem is that once you get known as a drug user it is
hard to be anything else. She said people who don't use won't associate
with you because of your reputation so you are stuck hanging around the
people who use drugs so you use.

"As soon as I graduate I will leave Vanderhoof and start new," Trix said.
"I don't want to stay with this scene, it is wrecking my life."

Lisa Striegler said this is a concern for the Vanderhoof Alcohol and Drug
Services. She said there is a big stigma about asking for help and in order
to be successful they must continue to work hard to break this down.

She said another challenge they face is most teens don't really want to get
off drugs when they come in to see them.

She explained there are five stages of change. Pre-contemplation when they
are not at all worried about it and they are having fun.

Contemplation when they are starting to think about change but not ready to
make it. Preparation is when they start getting ready and can see what they
would gain by quitting. Action is when they finally do something about it
and make the change. The final step is either maintenance or relapse.

Her biggest challenge is that she sees teens before they are even thinking
about making a change.

"They are young and impulsive and want to try new things," Striegler said.
"The drugs make them want to continue using because they are getting
something out of it."

She said parents are scared and worried about their children.

"They come to us for some hope," she added. "We educate and try to build a
relationship with the parents and the youth. If the youth isn't ready to
make a change yet we hope that the relationship will bring them back when
they are ready.

"We can't scare them into stopping," she said. "The desire to change has to
come from them."

Striegler agrees there is a serious drug and alcohol problem here in
Vanderhoof. She said they are working hard to offer a comfortable and
private way for people to get help.

If you or someone you know has a problem with drugs or alcohol contact the
Vanderhoof Alcohol and Drug Services at 567-2107.