TEENS URGED TO STAY REAL

November 12 through 19 is Drug Awareness Week. And school-based prevention
worker Lory Borges is urging students to keep with this year's theme and
Stay Real.

"There is a perception in the community that Revelstoke has a drug
problem," said Borges.

But Borges cautions that Revelstoke has no more of a drug problem than
similar communities throughout Canada.

"Alcohol consumption in the community is quite high, but it's high in the
rest of Canada. Most people tend to forget that alcohol is a drug," she said.

Alcohol and marijuana seem to be the drugs of choice for teens in
Revelstoke, said Borges.

"I think they're the most accessible to teens and the cost is quite
reasonable," she said. "Accessibility is a huge factor in whether or not a
teen will use a particular drug."

Alcohol is probably the most common drug used because some teens have a
supplier, said Borges.

"Lots of parents provide their kids with alcohol. I think a lot of adults
don't seem to think that it's a drug. And I think that teens don't learn
what it's like to be a responsible drinker as an adult if their constantly
practising overuse," she said. "Adults don't think about the message
they're sending."

While alcohol and marijuana have both long-term and short-term effects,
teens know what they're getting into when they decide to use, said Borges.

"I think teens are very knowledgeable (about drugs). I remember being a
teen and teens just don't think it's going to happen to them.

"Marijuana is the sneaky drug. You don't see those effects until the teen
becomes a regular user. There's the lack of motivation, dropping grades,
they don't have goals, their relationships change.

"With alcohol, you see the short-term stuff like alcohol poisoning. There
are tons of risks-increased sexuality, decreased inhibition, more
aggressive behaviour and impaired driving. Impaired driving is a big issue
in the community. I think we're fortunate that we haven't seen many deaths
in the community as a result of impaired driving."

Borges said that while the penalties for impaired driving and using drugs
are severe enough a deterrent for teens, more needs to be done to cut off
access to the drugs.

"I think there needs to be more severe penalties for those who are
trafficking the drug. The less accessible the drug is, the higher the
chance teens won't use."

Another strong deterrent for teens is family values, said Borges. "I think
a lot of it is their family's values and acceptance of drug use. Families
play a big part."

Efforts to curb drug use in teens needs to be continued, she said. "There's
been a lot of efforts by the RCMP to get some control on the marijuana and
drug scene in Revelstoke and it has to be a continued effort."

During Drug Awareness Week at the high school, there will be several drug
awareness trivia games and videos for teens to take part in.