I have been in Vancouver all Week at the “Issues of Substance” Conference put on by CCSA the Canadian Centre on Substance Abuse. It has been extremely interesting and very valuable.
The primary theme has been to look at what the research is showing about adolescent drug and alcohol abuse and what sort of prevention programs work.
It was very encouraging to me to se that what Drug Class has been doing and saying for years is right on the mark. Kids are using too much, too often and starting too early.
The researchers are showing that if the start substance use is delayed even to 16 there is a significant reduction in the problems generally associated with it. Kids who are starting to use alcohol or marijuana in grade 9 or before have a very significant increase in school problems, mental health issues, and substance use disorders.
I’ll get into more detail over the next few days but this has all made me realize that we need to keep up the work we are doing!!
