DRUG USE UP WITH YOUNGSTERS

A report released this week indicates youths in the Lower Mainland are
experimenting with drugs and alcohol at younger ages. A local drug and
alcohol youth counsellor isn't surprised.

"I just took a referral for an eight-year-old who started smoking pot when
he was seven," says Bob Hughes, Phoenix Centre's Raven program counsellor.

Noting the tender age of the client is an exception to the norm, Hughes
says it's imperative parents realize how important their role is in
teaching appropriate behaviour to their children.

"It has so much to do with their home and what's going on in the home.
Where does a seven-year-old get pot from?"

The survey, conducted by Pacific Community Resources, shows an increase in
alcohol and marijuana use in youths aged 12-24. Marijuana is typically the
first drug used, with the most frequently reported age of first use at 13.

The report doesn't necessarily describe the drug situation among youths in
Kamloops, Hughes says, but he adds there has been a wave of crystal
methamphetamine use as well as crack cocaine use among area youths.

"Grade 8 is a prime age. Kids now come in contact with an older group of
kids when before they were the older group."