Pubdate: Fri, 13 May 2011 Source: Sault Star, The (CN ON) Copyright: 2011 The Sault Star Contact: http://www.saultstar.com/feedback1/LetterToEditor.aspx Website: http://www.saultstar.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1071 Author: Michael Purvis STUDENTS TALK DRUGS City police say a program aimed at keeping drugs out of schools appears to be working. Local school boards and law enforcement agencies launched a program in late 2009 to address drugs in schools by using high school role models to reach kids in the upper elementary grades. Police Chief Bob Davies said the stats point to a change for the better. Two years ago, police nabbed 76 students in a beginning-of-the-school-year clamp-down on drug use on or near school property. By the next year, that number had fallen to 24 arrests. "Some of that is because of awareness - (students) know we're clamping down and they're not going to be conspicuous in the open - but I'd like to believe that a lot of the reason too is that the message is getting out, that the program is having its effect on the students and there is a message there and less students are using drugs on school property," said Davies. Rather than focusing on enforcement, Project ABCD (Action for Building a Community that is Drug free) counts on high school students to act as ambassadors to the upper elementary grades. Students met at a youth symposium on Thursday to discuss the problem. Riley Roth, a Grade 11 student at Korah Collegiate and Vocational School, has been working as a student facilitator in the program since the fall. She said it's important to show the younger students that there are high school students who don't use drugs, and who are successful. "I think the best thing we can do is just be passive role models and not to tell them what to do directly," said Roth, vice-president of her school's student council. An ADSB survey taken late in the 2008-2009 school year, had 24 per cent of respondents claim they were using drugs, mainly marijuana, on a daily basis. Davies said among the suggestions at Thursday's meeting was more surveys. Matt Sicoly is president of the student council at St. Mary's. He said it's important to reach the younger students. "There's two different ways of looking at it. For elementary schools it's about don't even try it, and for high schools, it's about this is how we can help you, this is how you can stop doing drugs," said Sicoly. Davies said the goal is to make the demand for drugs dry up. "The message from students, I believe, is a lot more compelling, than it is coming from the police or from addiction research professionals. Students will listen to students," said Davies. - --- MAP posted-by: Richard R Smith Jr.