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The Huntsville Forrester
By: Carli Whitwell

It can be snorted or swallowed and have you hooked within days.

Sound scary?

How about the fact that one in five Grade 8 students in the Simcoe Muskoka region have recreationally experimented with this type of drug.

The number of kids trying opiate pain relievers such as OxyContin, Percocet, Percodan, Tylenol 3, Demerol, and codeine at least once almost doubles from 12 to 22 per cent between Grades 7 and 8, according to a youth survey by the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH).

In fact, province-wide it's the third most popular type of drug, followed by alcohol and marijuana, said Suzanne Witt-Foley, program consultant for the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health in Bracebridge. She said girls are more likely to try opiates than boys.

"It's concerning because those drugs are very dangerous .... Opiates are extremely addictive and extremely hard to quit," said Witt-Foley, adding the majority of kids find the pills in the family medicine cabinet. "And they're much easier to get than illegal drugs."

CAMH is marking Ontario's Drug Awareness week by focusing on preventing prescription drug-use in youth.

There's good reason to, says recovering alcoholic and addict Tom Regehr.

Regehr started drinking in Grade 10 and was a full-blown alcoholic by the time he was 18. He says he used alcohol to cope with his mother's mental illness, which he didn't understand and no one talked to him about.

"(Drinking) helped mask the pain," he said. "The lifestyle of the guy who drinks too much and parties too much, the lifestyle is how I escaped the pain."

While not everyone has an addiction, here in Muskoka, there is a higher rate of drug and alcohol use compared to the provincial average.

About 73 per cent of teens in Grade 9 to 12 in the province have used alcohol once in the past year while 83 per cent of teens in our region have used it, according to the youth survey. Thirty-five per cent of kids admitted to binge drinking, which is when you drink five or more drinks on one occasion, in the last four weeks alone.

The trend's the same with marijuana: while 34 per cent of teens have used it in Ontario in the last year; in our region almost half have smoked up.

Wonder why?

CAMH statistics as recent as 2005 show higher rates of hazardous drinking and dependence among adults in Simcoe-Muskoka than the rest of the province, though numbers have evened out in recent years. Half the population (47 per cent) smoke pot, whereas the average is 41 per cent provincially.

"There's role modelling," said Witt-Foley.

Risk factors also contribute to whether or not you are more likely to use, she said. For example, having very little to do is common for kids in a small town.

You're also more likely to try drugs or drink if your friends do or if it runs in your family. Poor social skills and self-esteem, mental illness or life trauma can also contribute to wanting to escape.

For Regehr, it was his home life. "My family life was non-existent as a teenager," he said. That snowballed as an adult. He couldn't keep adult relationships or jobs and was homeless for a short time.

Today, Regehr, now sober, speaks about his experiences to students who are the same age as he was when his addiction began. He says teens should understand the emotion behind what makes them want to drink or get high. Parents, he said, need to be open. "There was pain and suffering in my home and nobody talked about it .... I just needed someone to acknowledge my pain."

Education is also important. Many kids assume that prescription drugs are safe, said Witt-Foley, since their parents or grandparents may have been prescribed the drug, or because it's created in a pharmaceutical lab. There's also less stigma to snorting Oxycontin than shooting heroin.

Breaking down these false perceptions through communication is essential, she says.

"The key is to start young," said Witt-Foley. Tell your six-year-old why he's taking medicine for his fever. "Medications are safe when they're prescribed and used as directed, but you know they can be dangerous, they can kill you if you take them without a prescription or without mommy and daddy giving it to you when you need it."

CAMH is hosting a seminar on teen drug use behaviour tonight from 6 p.m. until 8:30 p.m. at the Rene M. Caisse Theatre in Bracebridge. Regehr will be speaking at the event.