Bcc Subject: Ontario: Teens scoring drugs from home ] Date: Sat, 13 Sep 1997 07:54:09 0700 MessageID: 123 Pubdate: September 12, 1997 Source: London Free Press Contact: TEENS SCORING DRUGS FROM HOME CREDIT: By John Herbert Free Press Reporter ST. THOMAS Parties at which teens pop pills to get high have become commonplace, students from Arthur Voaden secondary school said Thursday. The motives of the drug users, students said, range from a need to escape stress induced by their homes or school to a simple desire to impress others. And raiding their parents' medicine cabinet is cheaper and easier than getting the drugs from other sources, they said. Six teenagers wound up at St. ThomasElgin General Hospital late Tuesday after some overdosed on a mix of antidepressants, beer and vodka. Three were admitted and police said one of them, a 15yearold female, was unconscious. Three others were treated and released. A seventh, 15yearold Adam McEwen, was taken to the hospital Wednesday night after he was found by police wandering in ravines near Cowan Park, a popular hangout for teenagers. He had been missing since Tuesday afternoon's party and appeared disoriented when he was found by police during a search. McEwen was treated at hospital but not admitted. A hospital spokesperson said Thursday the teens admitted were in "good condition" and could be released today or by the weekend. Students outside Arthur Voaden secondary school said Thursday they believed six of the seven at the party were students at their school and were from a group known as "Dirts." They said the other a 19yearold who does not attend the school supplied prescription pills for the party. St. Thomas Police Sgt. Darryl Pinnell said Thursday a 19yearold, who is in custody, had used a prescription to purchase Lorazepam, an antidepressant drug. Pinnell said the teenager was "supposed to have them.'' Pinnell said the youth used the prescription to purchase a bottle of 180 pills. NOT FRAUDULENT "We're not dealing with fraudulent prescriptions,'' he said. Police also said Lithium and Paroxetine both antidepressants were used by the youths at the Tuesday house party on Elgin Street. Teens from Arthur Voaden secondary school estimated about 30 to 40 per cent of students have used or experimented with some type of drug. However, they say different groups use different drugs. The teens also said many kids simply take the pills from their parents' medicine cabinets without their knowledge. Grade 12 student Mark MacNeil, 17, who says he does not use any drugs, said the group known as Dirts is known to hang out at the park and uses pills to get high. Grade 10 student Nadine Graham, 15, said use of hash, marijuana and other drugs is common among her peers. Graham described herself as one of the Dirts. "I hang around with the people who did it,'' she explained. "Why do they do it? I don't know. Most of them are too stoned to talk about it. I think they use them for stress or to forget what's going on around them at school or at home, where they might be getting beaten by their parents. "What I hear is half the people who do drugs do it to relax. The others do it to impress and just to get stoned. Somebody in school will say `Hey, I got a gram let's go do it.' Some losers just do it to fit in and get other people to like them," she said. Most students interviewed by The Free Press Thursday were not surprised by what happened at the party. "Kids are using drugs every day,'' said Steve Long, 18, adding the drugs he's talking about are not sold at the school. "They steal them from their parents." Jennifer Jedrick, 17, said "anything'' will do from the medicine cabinet and that they don't have to be the antidepressants used at the house party this week. Some overthecounter drugs mixed with booze can also form a lethal concoction. "It gives them a thrill,'' she said. Jim Hamilton, viceprincipal at Arthur Voaden, said that despite what students say, drug use at his school is no different than at any other school. He called it a "societal problem'' that educators and parents must deal with together. "It's not a school issue,'' he said. "But for me to say there are no drugs at Arthur Voaden makes no sense at all.'' SUBSTANCES CONSUMED Pinnell confirmed all the "substances" used by the students at this week's party were consumed at "a residence in the city." He said the group was familiar with the gully system in St. Thomas and had decided to "wander" through them during their "high." He said police found females 15 and 16 years old unconscious on Tuesday night in the ravines. He said a third, a male, was "stumbling around.'' Pinnell said he was not exactly sure what was in the potent mixture. He said the majority of the drugs involved were Lorazepam pills. He said pills were mixed with "hard stuff,'' including vodka, and possibly beer. Pinnell said police would be interviewing the seven teens during the next few days. "We've been unable to take proper statements because they are still suffering from sideeffects of the drugs," he said. "We want to get a better handle on this and get answers to who, where and what. "It's a criminal investigation," he said.