Pubdate: Sun, 13 Mar 2005 Source: Morning Star, The (CN BC) Copyright: 2005 The Morning Star Contact: http://www.vernonmorningstar.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1352 Author: Cara Brady Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mjcn.htm (Cannabis - Canada) Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mdma.htm (Ecstasy) Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/youth.htm (Youth) DRUG USE CLIMBING Editor's Note: This is the first in a series focusing on drug abuse. Doug Rogers is worried about student drug use. "They are using more and what they are using is more harmful. They don't know what they are getting." As School District 22 Drug and Alcohol Prevention Counsellor, he makes it his business to know the local drug scene. One of the most popular street drugs is the stimulant Ecstasy which causes irreversible chemical changes in the brain. But most people who think they are buying Ecstasy are really getting something else which could include paint thinner and bathroom cleaners. Some sellers add crystal meth as an invisible starter to addiction. Crystal meth, one of the most highly addictive substances, is also being added to marijuana to recruit new addicts. This makes for lifelong customers because the recovery rate from crystal meth addiction is less than 10 per cent due to permanent brain damage. "If your kid goes out the door Monday morning and does meth, your same child will not come back to you. In Vernon, nine out of 10 Ecstasy pills contain something else. Some parents don't worry too much about marijuana because they may have tried it and didn't get addicted but marijuana is so much stronger than it used to be." Rogers said students may be able to do drugs and keep up regular activities for a while but the changes will show up. Parents should look for changes in attitude and behaviour, giving up things previously enjoyed, like sports, having different friends and staying out more. He sees parents as an important part of drug education. As the father of three young children, he thinks it's never too soon to start educating children. "How often do you talk to kids about manners? Until they get it. My three-year-old knows that proper medicine is what the doctor gives you when you are sick and it is only for the person the doctor says should have it, it is not good for anyone else. You talk to kids more as they are able to understand," he said. "Take every opportunity for education, including safe use of household products. Older children can learn more about the harmful effects of smoking, alcohol and drugs and genetic predisposition to addiction. If you tell kids the truth, they'll get it. We need to be involved in our kids' lives in a positive way." He said parents should be particularly concerned about what their children are doing after school from 3 to 5 p.m. "We need to provide alternatives with clubs, sports and after-school activities. Every principal in the district has a fund to pay part or all of the cost of participating in school sports so that finances are no barrier to anyone." He knows prevention education will never cost as much as treatment and support for people who can't work because of addictions, not counting the loss of human potential. "We are not getting these people back. We have to get kids to understand that when they are taking drugs, they don't know what they are putting into their bodies and what the effects will be now and in the future. Make them think about if the choices they are making now are going to give them the future they want." - --- MAP posted-by: Beth