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HomeMy WebLinkAboutTimes-Advocate, 1987-11-18, Page 11Times -Advocate, November 18, 1987 Puge 11 ADAPT presents excellent programs on substance abuse From October 26 to November 6, the ADAPT (Alcohol and Drug Awareness Program for Today ) was presented in the five Huron County high schools. MI facets of alcohol and drug use and abuse were examined in various ways through drama; filrn. mock trial and mock accident, ex- perts and professionals and persons speaking from personal experience. The program was organized and carried out in Exeter by the 30 -some students on SIIDIIS's intra -mural committee headed by co -chairpersons Leigh Soldan and Marilyn Hamilton. They were assisted by teachers Terry ' O'Rourke and Bonnie Becker, SHDHS representatives on the ADAPT. committee. • Marilyn terms the twa-week pro- gram a success..The variety •of presentations covred all topics. Although not everyone liked every speaker, the broad range of presen- tations meant that everyone got something out of some part of the pro- gram, she said. Bonnie Becker agreed with Marilyn'sassessment. She hopes the ettects ot the program will be. long- term. -and that "something will click in" when students face some of the situations presented.': -Will the message have a perma- • Hent impact? Only time will tel she concluded. there is a. drug epidemic out there. and it's alcohol", Maeye Con- nell for the Addiction Research Faun - dation told a sparse audience atten-. ding one of the events during the two- week .alcohol and drug awareness program at .SIIDIMS. Every two years the ARF' surveys 4•ot$) students in grades seven. nine a►id 13 from 20 school boards in On-. tario about their use of all drugs • - tobacco, marijuana, cocaine. and over the counter and prescription drugs. • said. Connell pointed out that most teens are on the road at the most dangerous times in the week, on Fridays bet- ween midnight and three a.m. and on Saturday nights between one and three a.m., whetf one in four drivers is. impaired. Connell also emphasized the im- plications and repercussions of host liability: if someone drinks too much while a guest in.one's home and is later involved in an accident, the host is responsible. Even if the parents are not al home -while their children host a party„the parents are still liable for subsequent alcohol-related accidents. and can be sued. • Connell suggested parents can help by co-signing a contract for life in which a teenager promises local! for advice and/or transporation at any hour and.in any situation where he or. she has had too much to drink, or a driver friend or date has had too much. . • The parent agrees to come at any hour, any place. no questions asked and no argument given at -the time. or pay for a taxi to bring the child home safely. The parent also agrees to call oh the teen if ever in a situation where he or she has had loo much to drink.. or is with an impaired driver. • Connell conceded the problem of young people abusing drugs . and alcohol is "complex, frustrating and challenging". She suggested the solu- , tion begins with communication bet- ween parents and their children. "Parenting skills are not learned overnight. They area process of giv- ing a child a sense of belonging, self- awareness, self-worth. a . sense of responsibility and beirig needed" McConnell concluded. - Linda Price. director of the recently established Iluron Addiction Assess- ment Referral Centre, provided some information of the recently establish- ed agency. The Centre. with branches- SPEAKS ranches SPEAKS TO THE SPEAKER -Lorne Rideout (left) was one 01 the few parents attending a talk on "Drugs and Booze - Parents and Kids", part of the ADAPT agenda. Shown with him arc SFIDHS teacher Terry ORourke; one of -the agenda organizers and speaker Macve Connell from the London chapter of the Ontario Addiction Research Foundation. Although the 1987 figures are not yet available. the 1985 survey show- ed that alcohol is the drug of choice for most high school students. While consumption of other drugs is down o with the exception of increased co- caine use among young people in the Toronto area ►. the use of alcohol is up - alarmingly. Over 40 percent of grade seven students admitted to using alcohol least once a year. and by grade 13 that figure had climbed to over 90 percent. Cmncrll cited alcohol as the most us- ed •and abused mind -altering substance atnong students, and a con- tributing factor in the majority of vehicular accidents, the prime cause of death of young people. Seventy percent of all the students surveyed used alcohol at least once a month. 40 percent drank on special occasions. 15 percent used alcohol . once a week or more. and 23 percent ofall Ontario students surveyed said that within the last month they had consumed enough alcohol to be legal- l•intoxicated. Connell shattered sortie• myths. Teens who binge -drink only on weekends think they won't become alcoholics. They can. Young drinkers believe if they stick to wine. they w•on't•get as drunk. This. too, is a fallacy. Five ounces of µvine contain the alcoholic equivalent of one beer. or one and one-half ounces of hard liquor. Drinkers are also under the illustion they are in control. and "accidents won't happen to me". Powever, among the first brain func- tions to be affected are judgment and self-control. Connell suggested that parents become more vigilant in supervising their teenagers. - "Adults should be concerned. Teens are combining two new skills - drink- ing -and driving - and the result is a disaster. After one drink, a tech is at risk, and youths tend to take more risks, especially if they have passengers of the same age and sex with them in the vehicle", Connell in the Huron -County health units -in Clinton. Goderich. Exeter, Seaforth. • Wingham and Brussels, was set-up as a readily available source of help for persons with alcohol, drug or other addiction -related problems. • - The program is designed to pro- mote early identification ,of addic- tions. offer assessment. develop in- dividual treatment plans in coordina- tion with other community agencies. and foster health education and com- munity awareness of addiction related illnesses. The professionally qualified staff treat all enquiries and interviews con- fidentially. Their mandate is to iden- tify the nature and extent of both -the problem and the client's strengths and resources. determine with the client the best course of treatment. and refer the client to the service best suited to him or her. Once all this has been determined, the Agency offers immediate support -to client aft(' fami- ly. and provides encouragement if a return to treatment is necessary. Any adult resident of Huron Coun- ty, and any individual or community groupseeking information regarding alcohol and drug 'abuse may contact the Centre. There is no charge for the Centre's services. * * * South Huron High School students were treated to a live example of how quickly and effectively the justice system can crack down on drug traf- ficking in their own county at a ¶nock trial held in .the school gymnasium Wednesday as part of the Alcohol and Drug Abuse Prevention Today program. SHIMS student Jon O'Connor played the part of the defendant ac- cused of trafficking in LSD. Prosecu- tion lawyer Randy Evans from Little and Evans of Exeter presented crushing testimony from OPP of- ficers Martin Brown of Goderich. and Hick Sinnamon of Exeter. Defense lawyer Mike Donnelly of Donnelly and Murphy found no alter- native but to change the defendant's plea to guilty. He asked that the ac- cused's lack of a previous crimina,1 record and youthful age be taken in- to account for sentencing and recom- mended a fine be imposed. The prosecution insisted all traf- transplant the healthy organs of young people killed in alcohol-related traffic accidents. Knight believes we are our brother's keeper, and "if we care, we have to do something" He decided to try to do something to team's general manager as program chairman. Knight ended his talk with a quote from the famous Canadian physician Sir William (haler: Drinking does not make people do things better: it 4 ,lit, • . s +. # n . • V _ ` . • • • • . 4 $ - •• + + •. • v - TEST.- Exeter Police Constable George Robertson lets Chrystal Jones blow into the Alert machine while fel- low students look on during one of the events during the two week ADAPT program at SHDHS. tickers should go to jail regardless of record or age as an example to other traffickers. OPP detective John Phillips of Goderich's drug investigation division acted -as -jtidge and passed down a. sentence of nine months in jail with two years probation. • - The -audience learned that this trial was, in fact. a re-enactment of a real trial held in Goderich last year which resulted - from- an undercover investigation. Evans presented the students with statistics of drug trafficking in Huron County. Ile referred to the 1986 under- cover operation which resulted in 21 convictions. totalling 511.400 in fines • - and four years in jail. - "You don't need a kilo of coke in a speedboat." said Evans about how simple it is to be -convicted of traffick- ing, unlike the elaborate plots' of Miami Vice. The audience was told that despite traffickers efforts to be cautious. undercover officers have very little trouble finding and arresting them. Although the sound system had trouble bringing all the proceedings of the trial to those Seated at the back of the gymnasium. the audience re- mained enthusiastic about the trial and its message. Lisa Hendrick thought that the students got the message about the dangers of drug abuse: "I learned what the consequences were if you were charged for drug trafficking." "We figured out what could happen if we actually did that and how serious it is,” agreed Chris Chanyi. "I think the ADAPT program that we have been running for the entire week has helped anyone that's need- ed some help." said Beth Sweeney: "This Saturday there's a lig football party and people right now are real- ly talking atm( having a designated driver and planning ahead not to be driving drank," . * * Death on the highways of North America has reached epidemic pro- • portions. It is the greatest killer of those under 35. Although 1,177,936 Americans died in wars between 1775 and 1984. 2.424.358 people died on US highways between 1900 and 1984. Divide those figures by 10. and you get comparable figures for this country. where the incidence of highway fatalities is just as high. Fifteen people were killed and another 497 injured in the 887 crashes that occurred in Huron County last year. More than 5,200 more will die on Canada's highways this year. These were among the frightening statistics presented by Hamilton surgeon Peter Knight to a whole school aasetnbly at SHDIIS as part of the two-week ADAPT o Alcohol Drug Awareness Program for Today agenda. Dr. Knight got a first-hand look at the stupid, senseless waste of young lives as a surgeon removing for remedy the situation. Ile takes time in a -busy life to speak to school students, and to serve on committees and task forces concerned with road trauma. - Knight said the prime cause of ac- cidents is drinking and driving. Next comes excessive speed: failure to yield the right of way. and following too closely. The doctor gave some facts and figures. Three drinks raise the BAC blood alcohol level o to .05; at which point thepolice can issure a 12 -hour licence suspension. One and one-half more drinks raises -the level to .08: anyone who exceeds that level and then gets behind the wheel commits a criminal offence. The amount of alcohol consumed and the age of the driver bear direct - 1', on the seriousness of an accident. Alcohol is a tactor in at least 50 per- cent of all fatal crashes. and is responsible for more than60 percent of single -accident fatalities. Sixteen and 17-year-olds are 165 times more - likely to be involved in an accident. After presenting the horrendous problem of mixing alcohol and motor vehicles, Knight offered some preven- tative measures - persuasion through education. enforcement through law and more protection through better automobile design. Referring to the first .suggestion. Knight said teens have to do their part. They can designate one of their group to stay sober and drive everyone home safely. or call parents or a cab, or stay over. • If someone is about to drive while impaired, his or her peers have a number of options. They can delay their friend's departure. call a taxi. drive him home. provide overnight accommodation. take away the car keys by persuasion or force or. as a last resort. call the police. "1'm sure you would rather see your friend locked up safely for the night than see him the way 1 see some. in a hospital bed in intensive care," Knight said. Knight said he' agreed wholeheartedly with the goals of the ADAPT program. but did not like the ambiguous connotation of the name which suggests comprotnise. "There can be no compromise, no way to mix alcohol and drugs with driving", Knight said emphatically. Knight challenged the students to become actively involved. Ile cited the Students Against impaired Driv- ing program in the Hamilton - Wentworth schools. Ile mentioned a new program being set up called "Drive Dry" which uses the Hamilton Ticats colours. with the football makes them less ashamed of doing them badly. - Knight then showed a powerful film telling , how the Students Against Drunk Driving and the Contract for Life programs wre initiated by a high school teacher in Marlboro, Maryland when two popular young members of the school's hockey team died within a week in two alcohol-related car accidents. - - A slight -framed Carni Cimicata stood before a large crowd of Grade 12 and 13 South Huron District High school students and delivered a tough message. "When you hit post -secondary cam - said that attitudes are changing. High insurance rates and increased police activities are gradually altering life. on campus. "Universities and colleges are under the 'gun right now and police presence is much higher than it has ever been," Cimicata card. "The traditional drinking events are on their way out because of tragedies." No longer are institutions tolerating students who take eight years to com- plete a four-year course, Cimicata told the students. A huge number of serious students, many of whom have then in the work force for four or five years. are making the competition fierce at the post -secondary level. Students "just there for the party" aren't going to be allowed back in January oafter the first semester). Cimicata told the South Huron students that the number of problems caused by alcohol abuse are "astronomical". Fraternity pranks and "date -rape" are often a result of too much drinking on campus. Drugs are also available and she noted that alcohol abusers often abuse other substances as well. Cimicata referred to the recent "Panda Woekend" which celebrates an annual football game between Carleton and the University of Ottawa. She quoted the "Panda Handbook" distributed to students which suggests they start Panda \Week€nd on Wednesday and buy a wineskin ear- ly in the year to avoid the rush. More than 30 students were injured when a railing collapsed during the Panda football game this fall. Ninety-two students were arrested at Queen's University_'s Homecoming where, according to Cimicata, .students walked the streets chanting "send more cops. send more cops". She- noted that those 92 students could well- have criminal records which will haunt them for years to come. Many tragedies, alcohol poisonings. date -rapes and injuries result -from Queens' . Homecoming every year, Cimicata said. She told the South Huron students that it was up to student unions to pro- vide non-alcoholic events for students who choose not to drink. Cimicata ended the lecture by offer- ing time for questions. She express- ed surprise When no questions were asked and told the group that SHDHS was ruinored to be a "big drinking" campus. That .drew applause from a very small faction in the audience. The manpower and financial sup- port of individuals and organizations GUEST SPEAKER - Teacher Bonnie Becker -chats with Dr. Peter Knight as SHDHS students in grades 11, 12 and 13 file to hear the Hamilton surgeon talk about road trauma. pus, all the booze that you ever dreamed of is going to be there. But if that's what you're going for. you're not going to last long -- that's the bot- tom line." Tempering that message with the idea that each student has a decision to make about alcohol and that deci- sion should be based on facts. Cimicata told the group that they would be responsible for their actions in the future. "There isn't going to be anyone standing over your head on a regular basis encouraging you not to drink." she told the audience. Part of the two-week ADAPT pro - grain at the highschool. Cimicata ad- dressed the students as a represen- tative of BACCHUS. an organization intent on educating students about alcohol abuse. A recent graduate of Ryerson Polytechnical Institute in Toronto. Cimicata now acts as consultant for student unions at various campuses across Ontario. Citing the death of Jeffrey Newmarch. a teenager killed after he dove off a cruise boat during an orien- tation outing at Ryerson. Cimicata made a large contribution to the suc- cess of the ADAPT program. The :ADAPT committee wishes to thank Jim Jarrett and Peter McFalls- and the extrication team at the stag- ed accident: John Brock from Town Line Collision for the'cars used in the corridor display and at the mock ac- cident. Exeter Optimists for their 5400 donation and the ".lust Say No" material: the Exeter Legion for their S200 donation. Dave Scatcherd for one nighj's accommodation at the Oakwood Inn. the Exeter Police Department for the in -school displays :.1►m Hoffman and the crew from Hoffman Ambulance at the staged. accident. the Exeter Lions Club for a 5101 donation: Randy Evans, Rick Sinnamon. yl►ke Donnel- ly. Marty Brown and John Philips for staging the mock trial: Constable Brad Powell, :Alcoholics :Anonymous: Rev Rick Hawley. Jeat. O'Rourke. Anne Newby, Cheryl Feagan. Anne Wicker and Betty Janke on the Parents Night panel. Ken Ogden of ('harterways for a -Stan donation. Jen- ny Rowe for a private contribution and publicity from the Exeter Times: Advocate. STAGED ACCIDENT - Lori Forrester plays the part of a passenger t trapSIIDped in a car after an alcohol-related accident staged as one of the events in the two-week ADAPT program DRUG AWARENESS- Constable Will Chisholm of the Exeter Police speaks to a group of students about drug abuse and drug paraphenalia. From left arc Chisholm, Alan Blommaert, Leigh Soldan, llarien Tinncy, Craig Soldan and Shelley Uniac. 1