Among York Region Grade 7 to 12 students, more than half drink alcohol, 25 per cent use cannabis and one of eight use non-medical prescription pain relievers, according to a report released last week.

The student drug use and health in York Region report - which also stated 20 per cent of young people are overweight or obese and less physically active - contained few surprises, public health nurse and team lead Allison Bailey said.

However, an informal survey of local teenagers who were not part of the poll suggested statistics might be underestimated.

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Mental Health Level of Care Depends on Where You Live

A York Region high school student, the product of a split and dysfunctional family, suffering from depression and self mutilation, had to wait months to see a psychiatrist. Only when the teen attempted suicide was hospital-based care offered.

A teenaged newcomer, trying to appease parents who didn't understand the nuances of youth culture, grew increasingly despondent, frozen by the stigma of depression and lack of help.

A pair of teenagers and an adult in their early 20s are found dead by their own hand after being released from a York Region hospital psychiatric ward.

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Drug Awareness Week Nov. 15 - 19

Secondary students within the York Region Catholic District School Board are preoccupied with alcohol, marijuana and illicit medications.

And board officials couldn't be more pleased.

In anticipation of National Drug Awareness Week, Nov. 15 to 19, the board has launched an intensive, hard-hitting campaign to teach students there can be more problems associated with recreational drugs than so-called hard drugs.

To drive home the perils of substance use and abuse, the board's drug awareness month committee and community partners have developed a series of month-long events for 14,000 high school students.

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