DRUG PREVENTION BEGINS AT HOME

Parents' streetproofing talks with their kids should include warnings
about drug abuse, says a police officer who regularly visits area schools.

"We need to give young people the strategies to make proper choices,"
says Staff Sgt. Ray Massicotte of the Waterloo region police drug
unit. "The best approach is to talk about it."

Warning youngsters about the dangers of illegal drugs is no different
than teaching them to look both ways before crossing the street, he
said. "We should talk to them about being careful."

Massicotte has witnessed the devastation in the wake of drug abuse and
that's why he doesn't focus on statistics.

"A parent whose child becomes involved in narcotics, they don't care
about the statistics, they care about their child."

However, statistics show that drug use among adolescents is on the
rise. Alcohol, marijuana and tobacco are the top three drugs used by
teenagers, according to the 2001 Ontario Student Drug Use Survey.

Although the effects of drug use can be devastating for teens and
their families, alcohol abuse is the biggest concern for Pat Fisher,
health promotion officer for Waterloo Region.

"As a society, what's really scary is the number of kids drinking to
get drunk," Fisher said.

Most kids get their alcohol from home, Fisher said.

Heavy drinking puts kids at greater risk for fights, accidental
injuries, unplanned or unwanted sexual experiences and poor school
performance.

Fisher pointed to an incident in October when a 20-year-old
Saskatchewan man was seriously injured after an evening of drinking
when he climbed eight metres up a street light and lost his balance.
He fell on to hydro wires and got a shock before hitting the pavement
head-first.

Fisher also stressed that binge drinking costs society through
vandalism, violence and impaired driving.

The number of students who reported drinking and driving was less than
20 per cent in 2001, a significant drop since 1977 when the rate was
58 per cent. However, anywhere from 18 per cent of Grade 7 students to
43 per cent of OAC students said they had ridden in a car when the
driver was drinking.

It's not enough to teach kids to say "no" to drugs. They must also be
taught why drugs are dangerous, the experts say.

"We stress good choices," said Lee Fitzpatrick, director of community
resources for Waterloo regional police.

Drug awareness lectures led by police or other groups such as the
parent-led CLEAN (Community Link Empowered Against Narcotics)
highlight the serious consequences of drug use, from trouble with the
law and school to health problems and potentially, death.

Fitzpatrick encourages kids, particularly the Grade 8 and 9 students
who are the focus of police-sponsored talks, to "find out where these
illegal drugs will take you."

No one is safe, he said. A drug problem "could happen at any school,
in any community."

That's a bitter truth Brian Rainville, principal of Waterloo-Oxford
District Secondary School in Baden, knows all too well.

In the fall of 2000, dozens of teenagers and young adults in the rural
communities of Wilmot and Wellesley townships were smoking heroin and
struggling with addiction.

"We know what drugs can do to take a student and distract them from
academic success and feeling good about themselves," Rainville said.
"We want to see a student be successful."

Since the heroin scare at Waterloo-Oxford, Fitzgerald said local
schools have been much more active in teaching the dangers of drugs
through classes, assemblies and counselling.

However, he warned parents not to rely solely on schools to inform
their children about drugs. Classroom lessons are insignificant
compared to the vigilance of concerned parents, he said.

Fitzgerald's advice to parents is simple: "Don't try to treat them as
best friends, treat them as your responsibility."

Parents who are worried that their child may be using drugs should
question the child and search his or her room.

"Yeah, they might be pissed off with you, but it may be a turning
point," Fitzpatrick said.

Early intervention is best, agreed Coba Moolenburgh, director of St.
Mary's Counselling Services.

Parents should never ignore drug use, even if a child only
occasionally smokes pot at a weekend party.

"I think parents should be concerned at any level," she
said.

Experimentation with drugs can quickly escalate until there are
serious consequences, such as school failure or legal trouble.

That's usually when parents intervene, she said. But "at that point,
it may be more entrenched as a lifestyle pattern for that youth."

Drug abuse is difficult to counter. Treatment at St. Mary's, which can
consist of individual or group therapy, depends on the person wanting
to change his or her ways.

Abstinence is the ultimate goal, but treatment begins with smaller
steps, such as cutting back on the frequency of drug use or the amount
taken, to try to reduce the chances of harm. "Change comes in
increments," Moolenburgh said.

Neither an addict nor his family can expect a miracle cure, she said.
"Parents need to be patient to allow that process to occur and
encourage them through that process."

The best way to stop kids from going down the dark road to drug abuse
is to teach by example. That means parents should look closely at
their own use of prescription and over-the-counter medicine as well as
their attitudes toward alcohol and drugs.

"Being a good role model is the best teacher," Moolenburgh
said.

Student Drug Use in Ontario

Toronto's Centre for Addiction and Mental Health has surveyed Ontario
students every two years since 1977 to monitor drug use between Grade
7 and the OAC year.

In 2001, just over two out of three students, or 67.5 per cent,
reported drinking alcohol in the previous year, compared to 30 per
cent who had used marijuana and tobacco.

About 14 per cent of students used hallucinogens and eight per cent
used stimulants.

A smaller percentage of students reported using narcotics such as LSD
(6.8 per cent), Ecstasy (4.4 per cent), cocaine (3.7 per cent), crack
(2.4 per cent) or heroin (1.9 per cent).

For most drugs, the percentage of students who admitted to
experimenting increased as they grew older. The exception was inhaled
solvents, the use of which was most prevalent among young students.

After a decline in adolescent drug use during the 1980s, there was a
steady increase in the 1990s. Between 1993 and 1999, alcohol use
jumped from 56 to 66 per cent, heavy drinking from 18 to 28 per cent,
and marijuana use from 13 to 29 per cent.

The number of young people using four or more drugs has more than
doubled from eight per cent to 17 per cent, while the number of young
people not using drugs of any kind dropped to 26 per cent from 36 per
cent.