Pubdate: Fri, 17 May 2013
Source: Cranbrook Daily Townsman (CN BC)
Copyright: 2013 Black Press
Contact:  http://www.dailytownsman.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/723

DRUG USE DROPPING AMONG LOCAL TEENS

Teenagers in the East Kootenay are using drugs less often in 2013 
than they were eight years ago, according to a survey just released.

The East Kootenay Addictions Services Society surveyed 3,500 students 
in Grades 7 through 12 in schools from Cranbrook to Golden and from 
Creston to Elkford.

The survey is completed every two years, and the most recent results 
come from students in February and March this year.

"Drug use continues to go down steadily, which is good news," said 
Dean Nicholson, administrator of East Kootenay Addictions Services 
Society. "The major drugs - tobacco, alcohol, marijuana, mushrooms, 
ecstasy, prescription, cocaine - are all dropping."

This year, 60.6 per cent of students said they have tried alcohol, 
compared to 76.8 per cent in 2005. 30.5 per cent have tried 
marijuana, compared to 37.9 per cent in 2005. 8.1 per cent have tried 
mushrooms, compared to 14.5 per cent in 2005.

In 2013, 71.9 per cent of teens said they have never tried tobacco, 
while in 2007, 61.3 per cent said they hadn't smoked cigarettes.

"The other exciting thing was, we had seen ecstasy use rising over 
all these years. This is the first year it has dropped off," said Nicholson.

In 2013, 5.8 per cent said they had tried ecstasy. In 2011, it was 
8.7 per cent.

"In our education in schools we have really pushed the risks of 
ecstasy, and a lot more kids are giving us feedback when we talk to 
them that they are choosing not to do that because it's not 
necessarily a clean drug."

Since starting the survey, East Kootenay Addictions Services Society 
has conducted in-school education about safety and substance use 
around the region. Nicholson said there's no way to know if that 
education is making the difference for East Kootenay adolescents.

"I'd love to say, yes, it's because of what we're doing, but to be 
scientifically honest I can't say that," he said. "(But) in the 
communities where we've been really intensively trying to have 
multi-pronged and multi-year interventions, we are tending to see 
bigger drops."

There has been a bigger drop in substance use among girls than boys, 
the survey found.

"When we were looking early on in the decade, we found that girls 
were just as likely to have tried the substances, and were likely to 
be using almost as often as the boys were, and in some cases such as 
ecstasy and cocaine, they were more likely to have used the 
substances than the boys," said Nicholson.

"This time around, all the substances the girls are using less than the boys."

When it comes to alcohol, 62 per cent of boys in 2013 had tried it, 
versus 58.5 per cent of girls. In 2009, 70.5 per cent of boys had 
tried alcohol compared to 69.3 per cent of girls.

For marijuana, 33.6 per cent of boys in 2013 had tried it, while 27.3 
per cent of girls had. Back in 2007, 35.4 per cent of boys had tried 
marijuana, compared to 36.2 per cent of girls.

"Even though they are all dropping, the girls have been dropping at a 
faster rate," said Nicholson.

"It's fairly normal that a good chunk of teenagers, but boys even 
more so than girls, will be more likely to be sensation seeking. They 
are more naturally wired to do more of that risk taking, try things out."

And East Kootenay teens are older now when they start using 
substances, the survey found.

On average, kids in 2013 are aged 12.9 when they try alcohol for the 
first time, compared to 12.5 in 2005.

"A half a year increase is a huge increase. It doesn't sound like a 
lot, but it really is a big difference because it means at the Grade 
7, Grade 8 level, we are going to see a lot more kids who at that age 
haven't used yet. They may start in Grade 9, but for us that's 
preferable. The longer they wait, the less likely they are to do all 
sorts of heavy use," said Nicholson.

One negative that the survey found is that in 2013 young people are 
just as likely to drive after using marijuana.

"The number of kids saying they are driving after using marijuana 
hasn't changed very much," said Nicholson. "We've got roughly as many 
kids saying they are driving after drinking as there are driving 
after smoking pot."

In 2013, 12 per cent of teens said they have driven while drunk, and 
10.4 per cent have driven while under the influence of marijuana. In 
2007, 20.1 per cent had driven after using alcohol, versus 11 per 
cent after using marijuana.

"There has been some headway in getting kids to think about drinking 
and driving, and certainly we see kids being much more likely to 
arrange designated drivers if they are going out drinking, but maybe 
not quite as much around marijuana," said Nicholson.

It's something important to consider when debating the 
decriminalization of marijuana, he went on.

"There's a general perception among many people, including a lot of 
adolescents, that marijuana is not as harmful as alcohol or 
cigarettes, and there is some truth to that in some respects. But I 
think in doing that they are not recognizing the impact it still has 
on motor coordination and the fact that you are still impaired to 
drive, both legally and practically," said Nicholson.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom