Montreal drug crisis counsellor says kids as young as 11 are using drugs

Reported December 28, 2007

MONTREAL - Alvin Powell, a former National Football League player who runs a drug crisis centre in Montreal, says he is stunned when young people tell him they started using drugs at the age of 11.

The former Seattle Seahawk, who is also the father of three, including an 11-year-old daughter, said Monday he "freaks out as a parent" when he hears such things.

"I feel like people are sleeping, the community is sleeping," an emotional Powell told a news conference.

He said his own battle with cocaine abuse brought him to the brink of death.

"I almost died," he said.

"Fifteen years ago you could have found me in front of a subway station, panhandling for money."

Powell first used drugs at the age of 21 and was introduced to cocaine by a football teammate in Seattle.

But the 48-year-old turned his life around and founded Saving Station Foundation, a non-profit organization which helps youth deal with substance abuse.

Powell said he used to make about 50 to 70 anti-drug presentations in schools every year.

But that changed in 2007.

"This year we visited only 30 schools because we are being shellacked by the number of parents bringing kids to us for treatment," he said.

Laurent Dyke, a Montreal police crime prevention officer, confirmed young people are being offered drugs at an earlier age.
 

"Students as young as Grade 6 are being solicited to consume drugs of all kinds," he said.

Dyke and Powell agree young people don't start their consumption with the help of drug dealers.

"They are in an environment where they are introduced to drugs by a friend or family member," Powell said.

"It's not a drug dealer.

"This is what's happening.

They're with someone they know and trust.

Both men also agree parents should be playing a bigger role in the fight against drug abuse.

He complained that young people are left alone too much because both parents are out working and spending less time with them.

"Parents need to be held accountable for their children.

They need to search their kids' drawers, investigate and be cops at home." Dr. Martin Laliberte of the Royal Victoria Hospital said children entering high school are subject to intense peer pressure to adopt certain behaviours.

"And unfortunately, that can include the use of drugs," he said.

Laliberte said he's not pessimistic about the future.

"I get the feeling the more we talk about the issue, the better it's going to be," he said.