Pubdate: Wed, 21 Sep 2005
Source: Parry Sound North Star (CN ON)
Copyright: 2005, Parry Sound North Star
Contact:  http://www.parrysoundnorthstar.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1618
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/youth.htm (Youth)

OUR YOUTH AT RISK

There's a serious, sometimes life-threatening, drug abuse problem 
among teenagers in the Parry Sound area--and much more needs to be 
done about it.

As reported in a four-part series by Stephannie Johnson in the North 
Star, the parents of young people in our community who became 
addicted to potentially deadly drugs such as OxyContin and cocaine 
tell horror stories of not only watching their children slide toward 
disaster, but of finding themselves without sufficient support or 
resources to help deal with the problem.

There's no point in complacently suggesting, as Parry Sound Mayor Ted 
Knight does, that there's adequate help in the region for people 
suffering from a drug addiction. The parents of the victims, and some 
of the sufferers themselves, tell a very different story--and they're 
in a much better position to know than Mr. Knight and others who 
might prefer to shut their eyes to the gravity of the problem.

It's no consolation, either, to be told that the drug problem among 
teenagers in the Parry Sound area is probably no worse than anywhere 
else in the country.

That doesn't change the fact that there is a very serious problem 
right here in our own community that's placing our own children at 
risk, and that we're entitled to insist that it be addressed.

Much more needs to be done, and quickly.

First, we urgently need a detox centre to be established at the West 
Parry Sound Health Centre. Teenagers in our community who recognize 
that they have a drug problem and want to deal with it shouldn't have 
to beg rides to Sudbury, North Bay or Barrie to get the help they 
need, if they can find it.

It's one thing to have a new state-of-the-art $80 million medical 
facility and still have to send seriously-injured accident victims or 
people needing major surgery elsewhere, because we don't have a large 
enough population base, and therefore a large enough number of cases, 
to justify building up an extensive staff of medical specialists. 
But, sadly, there is certainly enough drug abuse and drug addiction 
in our community to justify setting up a centre at the hospital to 
deal with it.

Such a detox centre, it seems to us, should be the hub of a 
comprehensive program of services to fight drug abuse, especially 
among the young. There should be a "one-stop-shopping" approach where 
people with a drug problem, or their parents, can come to a single, 
well-publicized place to quickly get all the information, advice, 
help, support and services they need.

Second, we need much better law enforcement with regard to drug 
dealing in the Parry Sound area. It's very surprising--and 
disturbing--to have a Parry Sound OPP spokesperson say, as reported 
in today's North Star: "The police can't do it all unless we get the 
community calling us, saying 'Here's where and this is what's 
happening,' and then we can look into things." What's happened to the 
police function of investigating, without waiting for the public to 
do their legwork for them?

Selling hard drugs such as powerful painkillers and cocaine, 
especially to minors, is a very serious crime. It's simply not good 
enough to hear the police say that they're too busy with other things 
to crack down on it, when the futures and even the lives of our 
children are at risk. If the local OPP need more resources, they 
should be provided. If there's a need for a specialized anti-drug 
unit to tackle the problem properly, it should be set up.

Third, there are some broader questions that we need to ask ourselves 
as a community. When a significant number of our teenagers, or even 
younger children, are experimenting with numbing themselves with some 
of the most powerful and dangerous of drugs, what might be missing in 
their lives to drive them to it?

Sure, the young may be tempted to experiment with alcohol or 
marijuana, and that can be risky enough at their ages.

But let's face it: Happy, well-adjusted teenagers don't generally go 
around ingesting powerful narcotic prescription drugs or messing 
around with cocaine or meth.

Are there ways that our community is letting them down, not providing 
enough satisfying recreational outlets, enough social opportunities, 
enough emotional support at a difficult age, and so on?

There are no easy answers to such questions, and taking steps to 
effectively address youth drug abuse in our area will take a 
determined, sustained effort. But one thing we know for sure: 
Ignoring the problem and hoping it will go away would be no answer at all.
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