ANTI-DRUG TEAM TAKES YOUTHFUL FOCUS

Drug prevention workers in local elementary schools? That could
happen if council and school board agrees with a recommendation by
the Richmond Alcohol and Drug Action team.

Local school board chair Sandra Bourque said Wednesday team
representatives will be appearing before trustees at the next school
board meeting to suggest funding for six drug prevention workers. The
source of the funding would be money the city receives from the Great
Canadian Casino.

"We need to look at...what we can do to help kids make better
choices," Bourque said. "Just putting a fear of drugs into kids
doesn't work."

The issue of youth and drugs came up late last month at an education
committee meeting where stakeholders, including trustees, students
and parents, discussed the safety audit released by the auditor
general. It dealt with safety of children in schools and discussed a
wide range of topics including bullying. Trustees voted to refer the
report to staff to determine what the local school district needs to
address local needs.

But committee participants pointed out the audit didn't touch on the
issue of drugs.

A school district curriculum counselor advised the education
committee during the Oct. 23 meeting that more students appear to be
using harder drugs.

According to minutes taken at an Education Committee Meeting, Rob
Inrig "advised the committee that counselors have noted a change in
the drugs of choice being used." While the marijuana and alcohol
continue to be popular, "more students appear to be using harder
drugs."

Inrig told the committee he feels the need for "additional community
services, such as adolescent detox(ification), and stressed the
enormity of this societal problem."

Some student representatives explained some parents "refuse to
believe their children are involved in drug use, possibly because
they don't know how to deal with the issue."

Bourque said the availability of drugs, the pressure to use them and
the wide array are all concerns.