Pubdate: Wed, 05 May 2010 Source: Huntsville Forester, The (CN ON) Copyright: 2010 The Huntsville Forester Contact: http://www.huntsvilleforester.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/2430 Author: Pamela Steel BINGE DRINKING, POT AND PRESCRIPTION DRUGS The Second Installment in a Series on Drug Use Among Muskoka High School Students. HUNTSVILLE-Danger lurks in your home. The contents of your alcohol cabinet, beer fridge and medicine cabinet pose a threat to the health and well-being of your teen, according to The Centre for Addiction and Mental Health. The largest risk to high school students in terms of drug abuse comes from legally available drugs like alcohol and prescription opiods, as well as marijuana use, according to the centre's 2009 provincial study on drug use by teens. The Muskoka area is no exception, sitting higher than the provincial average in many categories in the study. In most cases, the drugs don't come from city drug dealers, they come from local homes, area health experts say. "Substance and soft drug use in Muskoka is very high - amongst the highest in the province across the board," said Mary Shirley Thomson, the manager of services for the Children's Mental Health Centre in Muskoka. "I can't speak to why it is the case here, however if a youngster grows up in an environment where getting drunk or stoned is acceptable - - they're going to think it's acceptable. "Parents can say do as I say, not as I do - the kids are going to do what they see." The study determined that while the majority of teens use alcohol, one in four is a binge drinker. When they looked at 12th-graders only, the stats zoomed up to one- half. Binge drinking is described as having five or more drinks on one occasion. This type of hazardous drinking establishes a dangerous pattern of alcohol use that increases the chances of lifelong physical, psychological or social problems, according to health officials. "From a chronic disease point, there's the risk of cancer, stroke, hypertension and coronary disease," said Mia Brown, public heath nurse with the Simcoe Muskoka District Health Unit. "Injuries include motor vehicle collisions, falls, drowning, burns, occupational and machinery injuries, self-inflicted injuries, violence and assault." Alcohol and drug-related motor vehicle collision deaths remain the leading cause of death for youth ages 15 to 24. In the study, high school students admitted to drinking and driving, smoking pot and driving, and almost one-quarter said they had taken a ride with a driver who was drinking or using drugs. One in ten students reported being injured or injuring someone else as a result of their drinking. "Alcohol impairs the decision-making process and lowers inhibitions leading to risk-taking behaviour and consequences like injury, violence, unplanned sex and academic challenges. Drinking too fast can lead to alcohol poisoning, injury or death," said Brown. Marijuana use clocks in as used by roughly one-third of students, according to the study. Cam Lawson is working with youth on the ground through The Door in Huntsville. "This is the third generation from the '60s movement," he said. We're starting to see what that whole party-on attitude - of it being so acceptable in society - means." Thomson, at the Children's Mental Health Centre in Muskoka, says the pot of today is more dangerous than it was in the past. "There's a fair bit of brand new research saying, the younger you are when you start smoking pot, the more damage you do to your brain and it's permanent," she said. "The pot people are smoking is generally much stronger than it was 25 years ago." The damage done by the chemicals released in marijuana smoke has been shown to be greater in young, developing brains. "Smoking marijuana is associated with risks for personal harm and social issues; (kids become) withdrawn socially . suffer from depression and anxiety. Individuals who initiate cannabis use before 16 when the brain is still developing are more vulnerable to lasting neuro-psychological deficits - it can precipitate schizophrenic episodes if they are already at risk and /or trigger psychotic episodes," she said. The regular use of cannabis can interfere with coping skills and protective factors - including resiliency, mastery and positive self-esteem, according to Brown. It impairs your ability to drive and does serious harm to lungs and the respiratory system and impairs breathing, the public health nurse added. Many people are unaware that marijuana smoke contains many of the same carcinogens as tobacco smoke. All the health care professionals The Forester spoke with emphasized the importance of education and prevention at every level - school, home and community. Thomson said by the time teens get to Grade 10, they will have been exposed to and possibly experimented with pot and alcohol to some extent. "That doesn't mean they come home drunk or stoned nor does it mean they have an addiction," she said. "It means they're growing up in this culture at this time." She made it clear that a teen is vulnerable for a hundred different reasons. "You don't suddenly wake up one day and go out and get stoned and drunk repeatedly - any more than any other habit," she said. Adults may become vulnerable to drug abuse at different times but many have the skills to stop themselves. "Teens aren't there yet," she said. "The simple answer is . long before your kid comes home drunk or stoned you need to talk to them about what they may encounter so they can learn choice-making and problem-solving skills. That starts at age 4, not at age 14." One Grade 11 student said drug use is different with everyone. "Most kids have tried it (marijuana) . most kids do drink," he said. "Parents don't try to fight it - it's worse if they do. If I come home wasted, she'll (his mother) say, 'you're an idiot; go to bed.'" Suzanne Witt-Foley addresses health promotion and policy education for the centre in the Parry Sound Muskoka area. "Alcohol is the drug of choice, second is cannabis and (the non-medical use of) prescription drugs is third highest - above tobacco," she said of teen drug use. "When you ask kids who've used (prescription drugs), 75 per cent say they're getting it from their medicine cabinet at home." Addiction to Oxycontin, dubbed "poor-mans heroin" has become the largest part of local addiction therapist Warren Broad's work. He has seen drug abuse begin as early as Grade 5. "Kids start seeing drugs running through the school - that's everywhere in North America," he said. "I have personal experience treating 12 year olds that are experimenting." He says Oxycontin is readily available. "Kids can steal it from their parents, they don't even have to go to the dealer," he said. Parents are prescribed the drug for pain relief and store it in the medicine cabinet. "Children aren't informed early enough that even though mom and dad may have been prescribed this - it's still a dangerous drug," he said. "There's not much education going on at an early enough stage for them to realize that Oxycontin is heroin - it's just in a tablet form." All the health-care professionals we spoke with expressed the trend toward use of prescription drugs as a worry. - --- MAP posted-by: Richard Lake