Pubdate: Sat, 23 Nov 2002 Source: Kitchener-Waterloo Record (CN ON) Copyright: 2002 Kitchener-Waterloo Record Contact: http://www.therecord.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/225 Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/source/Kitchener-Waterloo FIGHTING DRUG ABUSE Drug abuse is a cancer in Waterloo Region. And like any other malignant tumor, it causes searing pain -- to the individuals whose lives it wrecks, to the families broken as a consequence of substance abuse, and to the entire community which must cope with the crime and misery that are byproducts of the drug trade. You might think this would all be so well known by now that a special week to educate people about these dangerous substances would be superfluous. But if you thought that, you would be wrong. Drug Awareness Week is an essential time in the calendar year simply because it is a time for education. Not condemnation. Not lecturing. Education. And when you get down to it, education -- the dissemination of knowledge, the transmission of the plain unadulterated truth -- is the greatest weapon against drug abuse. As a series of articles published in The Record this week has shown, whatever someone's drug of choice might be, it can be readily found in this region. Marijuana, hashish, cocaine, crack ecstasy, heroin. We have it. We use it. Our children do, too. Thirty per cent of Ontario students between Grade 7 and OAC have smoked marijuana at least once. There is a risk of psychological dependency with this drug. But it is also illegal and in pursuing it, young people can fall into criminal activity. The physical ills caused by cocaine and heroin might be so obvious that they do not need repeating. What is less obvious is the attraction heroin has for teens, indeed for children as young as 12, who wrongly believe it is safer if it is smoked. We can't forget, either, that alcohol is seriously abused by more Ontario teens than any other drug and, more than any other one of these dangerous substances, causes lasting harm. And so if we have three wishes in Drug Awareness Week, this is what they are: That adults and young people alike will inform themselves about these alluring but insidious substances; that parents will talk to their children and remember they are an example for this impressionable generation; and that where people discover a problem they didn't know existed, they will know where to go for help. One of the best places to start is Waterloo Region's community health department. Be safe. Be informed. - --- MAP posted-by: Richard Lake