COCAINE IN THE CLOAKROOM

Children as young as Grade 6 are being caught with drugs and it's not just
marijuana they're smoking, superintendent Terry Sullivan told Monday
night's school board meeting.

Crack cocaine, methamphetamines, heroin - the playground is turning into a
supermarket for illegal narcotics and it's up to the community, as a whole,
to shut the market down, he said.

Drug-related suspensions in the Kamloops-Thompson School District have
nearly tripled since 1997-98. In that year, there were 73 drug-related
suspensions; last year, there were 197.

"Drug use in adolescents has increased dramatically in the latter part of
the decade and there are a great variety of drugs available. We can't throw
up our hands and say the war on drugs is lost."

Teachers, he added, are becoming adept at spotting students using drugs
and, with the talk of legalizing marijuana, the problem may only become worse.

"I am mindful of the public debate around the legalization of marijuana,"
he said, adding as a result of this debate, he's hearing from many parents
who feel their child's use of marijuana isn't a big deal.

The legalization issue, he said, is being debated with respect to adult
consumption of marijuana and there's no debate around what effect it might
have on youths.

"It's time we had some type of national strategy."

As a result, Sullivan has put together a superintendent's committee
including representation from students, principals, the RCMP, city council,
an addictions councellor and various community youth and health agencies.

The committee will meet at the end of the month and periodically throughout
the year. Sullivan said it will have an action plan in place by the end of
the school year.