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Page 6, Terrace Bay-Schreiber News, Wednesday, August 27, 1986 ' (The following is the first in a series of five articles about young people and drugs submitted to the News by Ken Moffatt of Thunder Bay and Dennis Bernardi of Timmins, both of the Addiction Research Foundation.) The subject of young people and drugs has been badly abused by adults. If we are not surveying teen- agers to death in order to determine 'societal trends,' we are either searching out theories which give us easy answers to complex quest- ions (ones that agree with our prejudices) or sweep- ing the whole issue under the rug, pretending it does not exist. I'm being unfair. Of course there are adults who face the fact of youth's drug use squarely, who do not react with revulsion to even the thought of their children's experimenting with drugs, who remain open to learning more about substance abuse and what to do about it. There are even adults who will not confine their search for answers to the time it takes commercials to run during TV viewing. The issue of young peo- ple and drug use is not on- ly an important one, it is also a complicated one. Sometimes the questions are even more complicated than the answers. But Part-time Job Ambulance Officers Wanted for both Schreiber and Terrace Bay Please contact | The North Shore Ambulance Service at 825-3746 or 824-2033 neither the questions nor the answers are so complex as to be beyond under- standing and affirtmative action. This series of columns will deal with various aspects of drug use as it relates to young people. It will attempt to bring some clarity to a subject which too often becomes confus- ing and fearsome to both adults and young people. I sincerely hope that you will feel free to make your con- cerns and questions known by called 622-0607 or by writing to 104-1265 Arthur Street E., Thunder Bay, P7E 6E7. Your sugges- tions regarding subjects to be covered in the column are most welcome. In this area, as is most of Ontario, the most widely used drugs by high school students are alcohol, tobac- co, and cannabis, in that order. As of 1985, over 72 per cent of students (grades 7 to 13) had consumed al- cohol, over 29 per cent had smoked tobacco, and 25 per cent had used cannabis (ARF 1095 survey). The lower the grade av- erage, the higher the likelihood of drug use. The use of some drugs, like al- cohol, tobacco, and can- nabis tended to increase with age, while the use of other substances, like glue and soivents, tended to de- crease among older stu- dents. We will be exploring re- cent trends more closely in future columns, but I think it is important to acknow- ledge at the outset that NEW FALL RATES - NIPIGON RESORT 35 miles west of Schreiber on Lake Superior owners Mike & Susan Glad, Robin-& Pat Moore and Norm & Colleen Glad welcome you to: GREAT HUNTING, fishing and canoe- ing or just relax on sandy beaches. "e/might/couple 150/week/couple Reservations call - Little Gravel River 0140 In town 825-3398 or 824-2485 and Toronto. P1B 3B6 Additions & Alterations to Terrace Bay High School Tenders will be received by: Miss M. A. Twomey, Director Lake Superior Board of Education 301 Ontario Street Schreiber, Ontario POT 2SO Until 3:00 PM, September 11, 1986. Drawings and specifications are available from the ar- chitect with a deposit of $50.00. Plans will be on display at Builders Exchanges in Thunder Bay, Sault Ste. Marie, Lowest or any tender not necessarily accepted. Critchley, Delean, Trussler & Evans, Paes 304 Worthington Street West North Bay, Ontario (705) 472-0980 there are several vantage points to consider in exam- ining the issue of youth and drug use. I suppose the most pub- licized concern relates to those young people who use drugs to the point where they have very ser- ious problems which re- quire crisis intervention by appropriate helping people. The scarcity of local serv- ices related to severely ad- dicted youth makes this a particularly important as- pect of the problem. But we must not forget at least two other groups who need attention, albeit of a different kind. One group consists of those young persons who may not require crisis inter- vention services but who may be starting to show early signs of developing dependencies. The other group consists of those young people who do not have any problem related to drugs but for whom re- inforcement of healthy at- titudes and behaviours is important. All three groups have specific needs. We adults can have an impact in meeting those needs. In order to arrive at a point where we can devel- op rational approaches to helping either our own or other. people's children who are within these groups, we must have some basic knowledge of the subject at hand. 'To make full use of the information, we should try to accept certain rules of thumb: (1) Refusal to acknow- ledge that drug abuse touches all segments of society closes at least part of our minds to learning. (2) Our children are grow- ing up in a society that con- sciously and unconscious- No ™ hy Lb eS BEFORE YOU BUY... LET'S COMPARE MAYBE WE CAN SAVE YOU '""MONEY'"' ON AUTO & HOME CALL NO CHARGE 1-800-465-3916 = LAMBERT | INSURANCE 28 N. CUMBERLAND STREET THUNDER BAY, ONTARIO ly condones the use of drugs for many purposes. (3) Drugs are so readily available to our children that if they choose to, they can obtain them easily. (4) Problems of drug abuse can happen to any family. (5) Many of us are bad ex- about the issue of dru amples to our children when it comes to drug use, and this has an enormous impact on them. (6) It is vital that we ex- amine our own attitudes and prejudices honestly in trying to find out more Youth drug abuse subject badly abused by adults In our next column, we will look at some of the most important influences on the attitudes and be- haviours of young people. Railway exhibit A photographic exhibit highlighting the growth of Northern Ontario's towns from railway camps to modern communities is now in the middle of a tour of the North Shore area. It made a stop at Schreiber's Public Library during the week of August 20 to 27. On hand to set up the exhibit was Phyllis Campbell, Heritage Officer with the Ministry of Citizenship and Culture's Heritage Branch: The Ontario Heritage Foundation created the exhibit in part to celebrate the centennial of the first transcontinental passenger train and the towns it spawned. Minister likes idea The Ontario government is examining what it calls the "feasible" option of a motor fuels tax reduction to Northern Ontario residents after that option was sugg- ested by Gilles Pouliot, Lake Nipigon MPP, as one way to balance the price of gasoline throughout the province. In a letter of response to Pouliot from the Minister the station. 280. Applications will be received up to August 30, 1986 for the clean- ing of main floor of the C P Rail Station at Schreiber. Cleaning to commence October 1, 1986. A copy of the contract can be ob- tained from the General Office in 'Should you be interested in view- ing the premises please contact Keith McGaughey at 824-2054. Applications to be forwarded to Box 219, Schreiber, Ontario. POT of Energy, Vincent Kerrio, Pouliot was told his idea does have 'some outstand- ing concerns" but that it is one of many options that may be considered by the government. "There is no guarantee that any tax reduction would be passed on to con- sumers, since prices are set by market forces," Kerrio reminded the Terrace Bay and Schreiber area MPP. The Minister added that local tax differentials also create problem. .t the borders of the different zones. "*Residents close to the border feel that their taxes should also be reduced and dealers close to the border are unable to compete with stations a short distance away," Kerrio said in his letter to Pouliot dated Aug- ust 8. "*Assuming that savings we -e passed on to consum- ers, a tax reduction could lower prices to most North- ern Ontario residents t» levels below those in the south,'" Kerrio explained **There would also be nc effect of closing the price differential between urbar and remote markets withir | the North."' However, Kerrio did ad- mit that Quebec does offer tax concessions to resid- ents of remote areas, which shows that the measure is "'certainly feasible, despite the drawbacks I have men- tioned. The government is examining this and several other options to narrow the gasoline price differentials between the North and South."' The Minister reminded Pouliot that the ultimate decision on tax matters rests with the Ontario Treasurer and he many have further comments on the MPP's suggestion. A copy of Kerrio's resp- onse was sent to Robert Nixon, Ontario. Treasurer. z Pitch-in and ah Keep BA J Canada ™ Beautiful