Pubdate: Sat, 21 Jun 2008 Source: Sudbury Star (CN ON) Copyright: 2008 The Sudbury Star Contact: http://www.thesudburystar.com Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/608 Author: Rachel Punch KIDS AND DRUGS There's an alarming rise in drug-related offences among youth, as well as mental-health issues and violent crime In late March, a 15-year-old drug dealer in Chelmsford received a call on his cellphone. "You don't know me, but my buddy gave me your number," the mystery caller asked. "Could you help me out?" "Yeah, how much are you looking for?" the drug dealer responded. "About a quarter," the caller said, referring to a quarter ounce of marijuana. The two planned to rendezvous at the Tim Hortons in Chelmsford to do the deal. As the young dealer approached the mystery caller, who unbeknownst to him was an undercover police officer, a marked cruiser showed up in the parking lot. The drug dealer took off and a foot chase ensued. Officers quickly caught up with the drug dealer. With the co-operation of his mother, his room was searched. The search turned up 90 grams of weed, drug paraphernalia and three cell-phones -- an alarming find in a 15-year-old's room. Charges were laid and in April this young dealer, who can't be named under provisions of the Youth Criminal Justice Act, appeared in court. "At 15, this type of thing is alarming to say the least," federal drug prosecutor Richard Huneault told the judge. The amount of drugs could fetch about $900 on the streets, he said. The dealer's mother is there, and she addressed the judge. It's obvious she has taken his charges seriously. Her son has, however, turned his life around since his arrest, she said. "He's been much more amicable at home. I've been getting phone calls from school to say he's a different child," she said. The judge asked the young dealer why he did it. "The money," he responded nonchalantly. It's a career he no longer wants, the teen added. "I want a real career," he said. The judge proceeded to counsel the boy before handing down a sentence. The drug world may seem glamourous, the judge said, adding: "In the end, it turns out to be quite a dead end... What you do in the next five years sets the path for what follows." Those who get into drugs get addicted. "This is like a monkey on their back once they get hooked on it," the judge said, a metaphor he uses more than once that afternoon. The dealer is sentenced to 18 months probation. For 12 of those months, he must follow conditions such as keeping the peace, not having a cellphone and he must seek counselling as directed by a probation officer. His curfew is 7 p. m., except as permitted by his mother in writing. The teen also gets 30 hours community service, but the judge tells him if he participates in sports over the summer these hours can be used towards the probation. He wishes the 15-year-old luck and sends him on his way. These are the types of cases one would hear on a Thursday afternoon in youth court. It's the busiest day of the week, where everyone makes first appearances and guilty pleas are heard. It's tough to know if the drug dealer in this case will keep his nose clean. On the outside, he appears normal. He also seems to have a supportive mother. That's something many young lawbreakers lack. It's one reason many end up in conflict with the law, and why some come back to court several times. The youths who end up in court come from disadvantaged backgrounds, as well as from families that appear to have provided love, nurturing and a good foundation, said assistant Crown attorney Fran Howe. "I think it's fair to say we see far more youth that come from disadvantaged, often tragic situations," Howe said. "In the 16-to 17-year-old range we also see a number of youth who are homeless and who, therefore, have no parental figure or effective guidance and support in the community." Sometimes, that's been the youth's choice, other times it's because there has been a family breakdown. The youth may have also been involved with the child welfare system and has chosen to remove him or herself from care at age 16, Howe said. She has also noticed some other disturbing trends. "There seems to be a continually increasing involvement of young people with drugs. That involvement gives rise to a lot of criminal activity. "There are more teenage girls than say, 20 years ago, that are involved in crimes of violence and that's a trend that has been increasing, I would say, for at least the past 10 years," Howe said. Bettina Kealy, youth mental health court worker with the Canadian Mental Health Association, has spent two years working with youths in the court system who have mental health issues. She said substance abuse is common among the about 200 clients she has seen. "It's very scary to see how readily available these drugs are," Kealy said. They are using a wide-range of drugs, such as marijuana, ecstasy, Special K, Percocet and Oxycontin. Ecstasy is a stimulant that can produce feelings of pleasure and well-being, increased sociability and closeness with others. Among the side effects are grinding of teeth and jaw pain, sweating, increased blood pressure and heart rate, anxiety or panic attacks, blurred vision, nausea, vomiting and convulsions. A growing number of deaths have been associated with it. Special K, or ketamine, is a fast-acting anaesthetic and painkiller used primarily in veterinary surgery. It can produce vivid dreams or hallucinations, and make the user feel as though the mind is separated from the body. It may cause vomiting and is dangerous when mixed with other drugs or alcohol. When taken in higher doses, ketamine may depress the central nervous system. This can reduce the level of oxygen that gets to the brain, heart and other muscles, and may even cause death. Percocet and Oxycontin are slow-release painkillers. They are addictive and overdoses can lead to brain damage or death. "I have even heard stories of pill parties where the kids go and they have a bowl of different coloured pills," Kealy said. "They just pick a blue one this time and a pink one next time. It's scary." Police have found every drug imaginable on young people, said Greater Sudbury Police Service's Deputy Chief Frank Elsner. "We've seen all types of different drugs abused by kids," he said. "We're finding cocaine with younger and younger kids now. As young as 14 and younger." Melissa Bromley and Samantha McFadden both work at the John Howard Society co-ordinating diversion programs for young people who commit minor crimes. The teens who end up in their office are from all walks of life. "Whatever you see walking down the street is what we deal with," McFadden said. "Every kid is different. Sometimes it's just a bad decision. You know, I wanted that lip gloss," said Bromley. "They are all good kids, some of them just have bigger challenges than others." For example, some are dealing with alcohol, drugs and mental health issues -- among their parents and themselves. "It's sad sometimes. You look at things that kids have to go through that they really shouldn't have to," she said. "They are put in situations way beyond their control and way beyond their maturity and that's sad." Some of these young people are dealing with parents with severe alcoholism, or drug addictions, said John Rimore, John Howard Society executive director. "We're talking children that, at a young age, have to fend for themselves and find their own breakfast, lunch and supper," said Rimore. The youth justice system is set up in a way to hide the identity of those who commit crimes. This is aimed at protecting them, but it also shields the public from learning much about them. We also often just read about the handful of serious crimes that occur in the community, such as murders, major assaults or fatal car collisions. "I think that if people were able to humanize these kids and not look at the crime, but look at the people they are. That would be a big change," Bromley said. "People automatically assume they are delinquents. They are not delinquents. They are kids who are maybe off the good track. They are maybe not making good decisions, but they are good kids." "They all have a story behind them," said McFadden. Both agree incarceration isn't the answer, especially for minor crimes. "Would you want your kid in jail for the time that they stole a chocolate bar from the dollar store," Bromley said. "It doesn't always make sense. "People need to realize these kids are going to be the adults in our world," she said. "You can chose to incarcerate them and make them angry and not rehabilitate them, or we can try and rehabilitate them and make them positive people." The system does treat these young people differently than adults. Aside from confidentiality and lesser punishments, many of those who work with these young people really want them to succeed. "It's totally different working in the youth system compared to the adult system," said Kealy, who has worked in both. "There are a lot of really caring people in (youth) court... I think we all want to see young people succeed. The more supports we can put in place for them, the better." Ann Jones is one example of how getting the right support at the right time can turn a person around. Her name has been changed to protect her identity. The 24-year-old Sudbury resident is a mother of three who plans to start a four-year social work program at Laurentian University in September. Her prospects didn't always look so bright. She grew up in Winnipeg's west end in a broken family living in poverty. "I was into the gangs. It was a sense of belonging," she said. "I come from a poor family where we didn't have money for me to go to Brownies or soccer or swimming. So I had to find other things to utilize my time and then I got mixed up with the wrong type of people." She started racking up charges such as robberies, uttering threats, weapons charges, possession of marijuana and breaches. "I racked up all these charges and I kept getting released on bail. Then I ended up getting house arrest," she said. "Then my conditions changed until the point where they denied my bail and I had to do time." Jones said she was very angry and out of control. Dealing with the rules in jail was difficult. "I didn't like the fact that I couldn't do what I wanted," she said. She was also surrounded by other girls who were charged with more serious crimes such as murder and manslaughter. "I didn't want to be there at all," Jones said. She decided she might as well take advantage of the programs offered to her in jail. "I figured I have to do this, I might as well benefit from it and allowed myself to be open minded and that brought change," Jones said. She was released from jail and ended up getting pregnant at age 16. This helped her stay on the right path. "I didn't want to jeopardize my child, to continue that cycle of system, child, poverty, addictions, abuse," she said. "I saw girls when I was locked up who were in way worse places than me," she said. "I had this 'I don't give a f--' attitude, but that was a front for me. These people lived like that and I didn't want my child to be a product of that." The mother of three has recently come to Sudbury, and plans to be a social worker after graduating from Laurentian. "I'm able to use my experiences and my past to do something positive with it," she said. "You know, I had a rough start, but I've managed to find my way." The staff at the youth prison in Manitoba were instrumental in Jones's change in the right direction. "At that time in my life, it was either you go this way or you go that way," she said. "I was lucky enough to have people around me push me in the right direction." While some kids these days are doing terrible things, it may not be accurate to say they are any worse than generations before. "Every generation talks about kids nowadays," said Greater Sudbury Police Staff Sgt. Rob Thirkill. "My personal opinion is that kids aren't any worse than when I was a kid. In fact my kids are much better than I was." - --- MAP posted-by: Keith Brilhart