Pubdate: Thu, 16 Sep 2004
Source: Creston Valley Advance (CN BC)
Copyright: 2004 Sterling Newspapers Ltd.
Contact:  http://www.crestonvalley.com/advance/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1413
Author: Brian Bell
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mdma.htm (Ecstasy)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/youth.htm (Youth)

TEEN DRUG USE A "SERIOUS PROBLEM"

Describing drug use among local teenagers as rampant, one Creston parent is 
going public with a plea for help.

"Three-quarters of the high school students are using some sort of drug," 
said Nancy Wassink, who comprised a one-woman delegation addressing Creston 
town council before its regular meeting Monday night. "It's not just pot 
and it starts in Grade 8.

"It's a serious problem. I'm trying to do my part in this community for the 
youth."

Wassink suggested an RCMP presence around the school grounds after classes 
let out for the day, and even in the hallways during lunch hour, might make 
some teens think twice about their habits, and curtail the more blatant 
efforts of dealers. She said more potent drugs like acid, mushrooms and 
Ecstasy are prevalent.

"I don't know what to do, really," she said. "It's not just me. It's other 
parents, too.

"Parents can do so much, but they (teenagers) don't seem to want to listen 
to parents much. How can we get the police to get the message out that it's 
illegal? It's leading to bigger, heavier drugs."

Mayor Joe Snopek opined that it's less a policing issue than "a parenting 
problem. We have 13-year-olds on the main street at midnight."

Wassink acknowledged that some parents can't be bothered worrying about 
what their children are up to, and that others are in denial about their 
offspring's behaviour.

But she maintained that even mothers and fathers who do care need all the 
help they can get.

"It takes a community to raise a child these days," Wassink said. "A parent 
can't do it by themselves. Times have changed."

Coun. John Thomas was sympathetic, saying, "At some point (if) teens decide 
to defy parents, the parents become powerless."

Wassink is the mother of twin girls who graduated from Prince Charles 
Secondary School in June.

A third daughter is undergoing rehabilitation for the third time in 
Williams Lake. She will be counselling PCSS students about the perils of 
drug use over the next two years, said Wassink, who received a pledge that 
town council will work with her on the issue.

But she maintained that even mothers and fathers who do care need all the 
help they can get.

"It takes a community to raise a child these days," Wassink said. "A parent 
can't do it by themselves. Times have changed."

Coun. John Thomas was sympathetic, saying, "At some point (if) teens decide 
to defy parents, the parents become powerless."

Wassink is the mother of twin girls who graduated from Prince Charles 
Senior Secondary School in June.

A third daughter is undergoing rehabilitation for the third time in 
Williams Lake.  She will be counselling PCSS students about the perils of 
drug use over the next two years, said Wassink, who received a pledge that 
town council will work with her on the issue.
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MAP posted-by: Terry Liittschwager