Pubdate: Fri, 30 Jan 2015
Source: Cranbrook Daily Townsman (CN BC)
Copyright: 2015 Black Press
Contact:  http://www.dailytownsman.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/723
Author: Arne Petryshen
Cited: http://www.mcs.bc.ca/pdf/AHSV_EastKootenay.pdf

REPORT SHOWS STEADY DECLINE IN SUBSTANCE ABUSE IN LOCAL YOUTH

A recent report that looks at the health of B.C. youth shows
improvements when it comes to injuries and substance abuse for
students in the East Kootenay region.

The report is released every five years by the McCreary Centre
Society.

"There's been a steady decline in substance use," said Dean Nicholson,
executive director at East Kootenay Addiction Services Society. "The
number of youth reporting using alcohol has dropped. The number of
youth reporting using marijuana has dropped. And the other drugs that
youth get tested for have dropped or are at such low levels that they
are stable. No substance that was looked at had increased."

The East Kootenay Addiction Services Society also does a survey, every
two years, and this was the first year that both surveys came out in
the same year.

"McCreary and I worked together on comparing our surveys," Nicholson
said. "It was nice to see that our results really mirrored what
McCreary was seeing. Across Canada there has been a general decline in
substance use."

He said it is difficult to say whether it is just a trend that we're
going through culturally or real change.

"There's been - certainly in the province and I think nationally - an
attempt to shift the way substance use prevention is done - away from
a fear-based scare tactic kind of thing to having it be much more
about accurate information and discussion with the target group."

He said engaging the target group in discussions has been positive in
his experience.

"I think there's been a tendency to say, especially with adolescents,
drugs use, substance use is a problem period, without defining what do
we mean by a problem and why is it a problem."

For instance, he said that if someone is coming to meet with students
and their assumption is students shouldn't be using any substances or
any substance use indicates a problem, then right away it's going to
be hard for them to engage with the kids."

He said one of the reasons for that is that the kids will recognize
that there is substance use amongst their peers and for many of them
are not experiencing problems.

"I think we're recognizing that a more helpful goal is to honestly
engage with kids about what their experience is," he said. "And come
from a position of honest knowledge brokers and encouraging
discussion."

The study found that although local students were more likely than
their peers across the province to have tried tobacco, alcohol or
marijuana, there were local decreases in the percentages who had done
so.

"There has been a big emphasis on reducing tobacco use. That's been a
20 year project or more, and we've seen a decrease," he said. "Also in
B.C. we have some of the toughest drinking driving laws, so I think
there's been a message of safety and in some cases there are going to
be harsh penalties from a legal perspective around the safety aspect,
not necessarily around whether using is right or wrong."

In the past year, the study found a third of students were injured
seriously enough to require medical attention. This percentage was
higher than the rate across BC for both males (37 per cent vs. 30 per
cent provincially) and females (29 per cent vs. 24 per cent
provincially). However, this was a local decrease, from 43 per cent in
2003 and 38 per cent in 2008.

More than one in five students experienced a concussion in the past
year (26 per cent of males vs. 17 per cent of females). Mirroring what
was seen provincially, 16 per cent of youth who had a concussion had
not accessed needed medical help.

There are concerns raised about mental health aspect.

Mental health results showed that 27 per cent of East Kootenay girls
and 19 per cent of boys reported a mental health condition. Those
include Depression, ADHD or Anxiety Disorder. The study found that
girls were also more likely than boys to have deliberately harmed
themselves in the past year, and to have seriously thought about and
attempted suicide.

A copy of the report "Easy Kootenay: Results of the 2013 BC Adolescent 
Health Survey" can be obtained at www.mcs.bc.ca.

The East Kootenay Addiction Services Society report can be viewed at
www.ekass.com.
- ---
MAP posted-by: Matt