Pubdate: Tue, 12 Feb 2008 Source: Regina Leader-Post (CN SN) Copyright: 2008 The Leader-Post Ltd. Contact: http://www.canada.com/regina/leaderpost/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/361 Author: Heather Polischuk SUBSTANCE ABUSE A PROBLEM AMONG STUDENTS Binge-drinking, experimentation with pharmaceuticals and marijuana use continue to be problems that school drug educators see frequently, but as part of his day-to-day duties, Rand Teed tries to make students think twice before lighting up or guzzling down. On Monday, drug and alcohol educator Teed joined Regina Qu'Appelle Health Region addictions counsellor Don Fitzsimmons at Michael A. Riffel High School to speak to mainly parents and guardians about what causes a teen to become addicted to drugs, how it affects the teen and what family members should do about it. The first thing people need to deal with is their perceptions about drug addiction, Teed said prior to the presentation. "Primarily what I'm going to be doing is to try and get the parents and the kids to understand that people with drug and alcohol problems aren't bad people," he said, explaining that those negative perceptions can keep some people from getting help or admitting there's a problem, either with themselves or with their children. He said those perceptions may be part of the reason these presentations -- which are held several times throughout the year -- are not always well-attended. "I think a lot of parents don't want to come, because if they come they think somebody's going to think that their kid has a drug problem," Teed said. "So that goes back to that societal attitude about this is something to be ashamed about. The other thing I talk about is that this is a disease, and if they look at it that way, we can address it much better. One of the metaphors I use is that if you came to something like this and realized that your kid had cancer, would you try and hide it or would you go and get some help?" During his portion of the presentation, Teed explained the way the body and the brain react to drugs -- including alcohol -- before telling parents that yelling at their kids about drugs won't work. Talking and listening to kids about their problems are key. Prior to the presentation, he said binge-drinking is an increasing problem and marijuana and some pharmaceuticals continue to be popular drugs among youth. The average age of first use in Regina is about 11, and by Grade 9, an estimated 40 per cent of students have already become involved in substance use to some degree, Teed added. "The younger you can develop people's awareness that this stuff is more than just finding something to do, the more likely that you'll be able to affect some positive change," he said. One woman who attended the presentation, who asked not to be named, said she recently found out her Grade 9 son got some marijuana through some other students. "I've always been coming to these (presentations) even when he was in grade school, but recently the problem has arisen already, and we caught him before he even was using," she said, adding she is working to deal with the problem. Connie Brezinski said she and her husband came simply to learn more about what to watch for. "I hear it's quite bad and there's lots of drugs out there, and I just want to be aware of some of them and what they're doing, how they're taking them and getting them," she said. Other than learning more about drugs, their effects and how to deal with a problem, Fitzsimmons said presentations can have other positive outcomes for parents. "In past times ... we have often hooked them up with help for themselves, and along the way we can get to their kids, and if service is needed, we can set that up too," he said. - --- MAP posted-by: Derek