Pubdate: Wed, 13 Feb 2008
Source: Standard Freeholder (Cornwall, CN ON)
Copyright: 2008 Osprey Media Group Inc
Contact:  http://www.standard-freeholder.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1169
Author: Michael Peeling

ADDICTION OFTEN STARTS EARLY

Adolescent addiction takes time and exposure to the  right elements to
develop according to a regional  expert in the field of treating
substance abusers.

In the experience of Glenn Barnes, executive director  of Addiction
Services of Eastern Ontario, the timing of  exposure to drugs, alcohol
or both and their  availability play key roles in creating addicts.

"Most addicts start out experimenting in the teenage  years," Barnes
told a room full of teachers, youth  counsellors and health-care
professionals at the  Cornwall Civic Complex Tuesday. "They tend to
follow  what we call the 85 before 18 rule. Eighty five per  cent of
them began abusing alcohol or drugs before they  turned 18."

Barnes believes that if the majority of these early  experimentation
could be prevented from progressing to  the point of addiction, 25 per
cent of hospital beds  could be freed up for other types of patients.

"That's my pitch for early intervention as treatment  for substance
abusers," he said.

Barnes explained that it takes more than just sniffing  a line of
cocaine, for example, to become a drug  addict.

Sustained exposure, environmental factors and sometimes  past traumas
contribute to addictive behaviour.

"The beginning of addiction occurs when someone seeks  to repeat a
pleasurable experience they had after  taking a substance," Barnes
said. "The need to repeat  that experience eventually starts to affect
their  learning skills, decision-making ability, emotions and
behavioural control."

Abuse, he said, is chiefly characterized by someone  reaching the
point where they need a drug or alcohol to  feel good.

Addiction takes hold when there is both physiological  and
psychological dependence in a person, who in turn  shows an inability
to control use of a substance, the  loss of time management skills and
obsessive behaviour,  according to Barnes.

Adolescents most often start drinking and taking drugs  because their
friends make them available and pressure  each other to try them, but
the teens who are more  susceptible are likely either highly
impulsive, thrill  seekers or experienced a traumatic social factor
they  want to avoid dealing with through drug use.

Barnes said victims of sexual abuse often use substance  abuse to
block out the pain of their pasts.

Signs of drug and alcohol abuse parents, teachers and  others who care
for youngsters should watch for include  a drop in school performance,
lying, lethargy,  confusion, personality changes, increased
irresponsibility, missing money and defensiveness.

"If a teenager will talk about one friend and gets  defensive when
another friend is brought up, it could  be because the other friend is
involved in drugs  somehow," Barnes said. "The money that is missing
from  a parent's dresser could have been used to pay for  drugs."

Overt signs of drug abuse and addiction are bloodshot  eyes, a
dissipated gaze, dull skin tone, and shifting  sleep patterns.

Tuesday's talk on "Adolescents and Addiction" can be  obtained from
Barnes in Power Point format. It is the  first of several guest
speaking engagements scheduled  throughout the week for the Cornwall
Community Police's  Youth Symposium.

Police Chief Dan Parkinson said he hopes Barnes' talk  gave the
audience a leg up on preventing further cases  of adolescent substance
abuse.

"Drug use and abuse in the city often targets the youth  of our
community," Parkinson said. "Educators need to  know how to detect the
early stages and signs of drugs  creeping into the lives of our youth."
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MAP posted-by: Derek