Pubdate: Wed, 21 Apr 2004 Source: Vancouver Courier (CN BC) Copyright: 2004 Vancouver Courier Contact: http://www.vancourier.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/474 Author: Naoibh O'Connor Cited: From Grief to Action http://www.fromgrieftoaction.org/ DRUGS ALSO A WEST SIDE STORY Susie Ruttan discovered her 15-year-old son was addicted to heroin when she found drugs in his bedroom. Figuring out how to deal with the addiction proved to be a lot harder. Treatment options were scarce and informative resources few. It's one of the reasons she and other West Side parents launched the support group From Grief to Action several years ago. They want drug use recognized as a health issue, and use their resources to support and educate other parents so they can better cope. Members of the organization will be among several speakers taking part in a drug awareness forum at Dunbar Evangelical Lutheran Church, April 27. Open to youth and adults, it's designed to demonstrate that crystal meth, ecstasy, cocaine and other drugs can affect any family, regardless of income level or social background. Ruttan suspects her son, now 22 and clean, was relieved his problem was discovered. Although she was aware he'd experimented with marijuana when he was younger, signs he was smoking heroin were scant. His eyes didn't look different, his behaviour wasn't abnormal and there were no tell-tale smells around the house. Fatigue and flu-like symptoms were some of the only clues. Ruttan maintains equipping youth and parents with good decision-making skills and information about drugs is the best way to prevent addiction. "Parents really have to be armed with knowledge," she said, noting the organization has produced a coping kit, which offers strategies to families struggling with addiction, along with contact numbers and facts about various drugs and their effects. Staff Sgt. Chuck Doucette, who heads up the RCMP's drug awareness unit, insists being proactive about delaying or preventing first use of illegal substances is key, pointing out the average age of first-time use for marijuana smokers is 12. Doucette said drug awareness programs build skills that help kids make good decisions, decreasing the likelihood they'll experiment with drugs or alcohol. "If you wait till your kid is a teenager and all of a sudden say, 'Oh gosh. I heard there's drugs out there,' it might be too late. They might already be doing them," he said. "You've got to be talking to eight, nine, 10 year olds about why you don't want them to use drugs when they get older, so they start to understand that before they're offered a drug for the first time." So-called club drugs like ecstasy have increased the number of youths trying out dangerous chemical mixtures. According to Doucette, intelligence probes revealed that just a few years ago, kids didn't realize a good portion of what they thought was ecstasy was actually a mix of other chemicals, such as methamphetamine. Now, not only has the percentage of methamphetamine grown, many teens tell officers they're purposely mixing drugs to increase their effects. "But mixing any drugs together makes both more harmful," he said. Crystal meth, which is to methamphetamine as crack cocaine is to cocaine, is also becoming more popular. It's a purified form of the drug that's smoked for the quickest effect. Users get a higher high and become addicted more quickly. "It's a huge mistake for parents to believe that this is a problem that's only in the Downtown Eastside," Doucette said. "That's where your kids are going to end up if you don't take action and make sure they are informed about the dangers. I don't want to be alarming in that it's still a small percentage of the kids that are into these drugs, but what you don't want is [for] it to be one of your kids-you don't care the percentage if it's one of your kids." Noreen Grambo, the forum organizer, agrees that's a critical message. "Some parents don't find out until they're called to the emergency room or [their child] is picked up for petty crime. It's really a crisis that we're not dealing with." Other forum presenters include the co-directors of a residential program for addicted youth, a youth addiction consultant from the Vancouver Coastal Health Authority and a representative from Focus on the Family who teaches a course called How to Drug Proof Your Kids. The forum starts at 7 p.m., April 27, at Dunbar Evangelical Lutheran Church, 3491 West 31st Ave. (at Collingwood Street). Admission is free. - --- MAP posted-by: Richard Lake