DRUG ADDICTION BEGINS WITH MARIJUANA, PARENTS ARE TOLD

BADEN -- Drugs steal kids' dreams, and only parents can protect children
from the ravages of addiction, says the head of the Waterloo regional
police drug squad.

Staff Sgt. Ray Massicotte and Justice Paddy Hardman of Kitchener's Ontario
Court shared their first-hand expertise on the dangers of narcotics at a
drug awareness talk at Waterloo-Oxford District Secondary School near Baden
last night.

The school and rural community was rocked in the fall 2000 when dozens of
area teenagers struggled with heroin addiction.

The second annual talk was organized by CLEAN -- Community Link Empowered
Against Narcotics. The parent-run support group was formed in response to
the community's drug crisis to help affected families cope.

"Kids are at huge risk. It's almost impossible to stop when you start, no
matter what addiction you choose," Hardman warned. "No good can come out of
it, only bad."

Both speakers told the audience of parents and children of all ages that
the first safeguard to addiction is not turning a blind eye to
experimentation with marijuana.

"I've not met one heroin addict, one crack addict that didn't start with
marijuana," Massicotte said.

He said teens often start on the dark road to addiction by sharing a joint
with a few friends.

Next, they're wrestling with a deadly addiction to crack or cocaine,
stealing from family or prostituting themselves to get cash for their next hit.

Massicotte said he's seen boys and girls as young as 15 selling their
bodies on downtown Kitchener streets.

He said it's crucial for parents to talk to kids about drugs, and to
practise strategies to say no.

All parents warn youngsters to look both ways before crossing the street,
he said, but few tackle the tough and potentially deadly topic of drugs.

Hardman agreed there's no such thing as recreational drug use, and she
warned against the "growing sense that marijuana doesn't matter."

Parents should never just ignore drug use by a youngster, no matter how
casual it may seem.

"If you don't do something about it, they think it's OK," Hardman said.

And moving to a better neighbourhood to escape the temptation of drugs is
pointless because "every school has difficulties," Hardman said.