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Don, Elaine and Janet (not their real names) are Toronto high school students who agreed to talk to TEEN GENERATION about their experiences with drinking and drugs. Elaine and Janet are both 15 and in Grade 10. Don is 17, and in Grade 12.
Teen Generation: When, and under what circumstances, did you first drink?
Don: It was the last day of semester in Grade 9. We drank six beers each to celebrate. I didn't want to go home drunk, so we stayed over at my friend's house. A month and a half later, I tried eight beers and got sick.
Janet: I've had wine ever since I was little - my dad lets me take a drink if I want to. The first time I drank outside the house was at parties in Grade 8. We'd get a mickie and drink it when we got there.
Elaine: I was 11 or 12. It was my uncle's birthday party - he gave me beer, then left me by myself with the booze. I got sick.
Teen Generation: Why do you drink?
Janet: I like the taste, and you'd feel out of place if everybody had a beer and you were sitting there with nothing.
Don: At a party, if you have a couple of drinks you can relate better.
Elaine: When it starts to get boring, you want to drink more because then you feel better and you can fit in with the crowd.
Don: I drink because all the guys do it. We go out, drink a few beers and watch the hockey game. In a drinking contest, I could keep up with most of them.
Teen Generation: Have you been stepping up your drinking?
Don: I used to drink every night, and I'd drink a lot on weekends. I came home one night and I'd had 10 beers - my mum just about went nuts. That's nothing to be proud of. I found I was drinking more and more. But right now, I'm only doing it once a week, so I don't really worry about it.
Teen Generation: Do your parents drink? Do they approve of your drinking?
Janet: My dad comes home and has beers with whiskey chasers before he goes to bed. It doesn't bother him, though. He's not an alcoholic. My parents know that I drink and they don't mind. But my father told me if I ever took drugs, he'd be really disappointed.
Elaine: I don't like drinking too much. All my relatives drink. My grandfather was an alcoholic and I used to watch him get beaten up by my uncles because he drank so much and got on their nerves. I didn't like that. I like pot better - I smoke about once a week.
Don: Dad works for the liquor board so there's a lot of booze around. I've seen my mother come home from parties looped a few times, but she doesn't drink too much. My dad's not too upset about my drinking - he remembers what it was like when he was young. My mother says if I ever smoke dope, I'll be kicked out of the house.
Teen Generation: Do you think the media encourage drinking?
Don: Sure. My favourite TV show used to be "All in the Family." All Archie does is come home from work and have a beer. There are lots of shows like that. You just accept it, it's part of life. Last summer, I'd sit and drink about 3 beers after work.
Teen Generation: Have you ever done anything you regretted when you were drunk?
Don: I got into a fight once. I started it because I was drunk. The other guys were drunk too, but they were the school bullies, and I got scared. One guy got knocked out.
Janet: I've made a fool of myself when I was drunk. It embarasses you when you think back on it.
Teen Generation: Could you recognize the signs in yourself?
Janet: Yes, or Elaine would tell me.
Don: But a friend of mine's an alcoholic and he doesn't know it. He's 17 and he quit school in Grade 10. He drinks 12 beers every night and he doesn't even get drunk. He's says it's only beer, it's not liquor.
Teen Generation: What other drugs have you used and why did you try them?
Janet: I started smoking pot in Grade 9, and I also took bennies (amphetamines). I was curious about them. Sorority night we were up quite late, so I just took some bennies and they kept me awake.
Elaine: I use bennies more than she does - I take them once a week. I usually go to work with my dad. He works midnight shifts and we're there all night. I just sit there and it gets kind of boring and I don't want to fall asleep.
Teen Generation: Do you ever worry about the physical effects?
Elaine: I think about it.
Don: I've tried hash, acid, PCP and cocaine. All my friends were doing it. I wanted to see what it was like. I did acid a few times but then I found out how bad it is. My brother analyzed some of it, it was half LSD, some PCP and some strychnine. That scared me and I haven't touched it since. I did $10 worth of PCP once for a concert, and when I woke up at 8 the next morning I was still high, I didn't think that would happen. I've heard pot doesn't hurt you at all but they're finding out now that it damages your chromosomes or something. I quit smoking weed because I'd smoke just one joint and I'd be high for half an hour, then I'd get paranoid and tired and I couldn't go to sleep. It's a bad feeling - it got boring. I don't like depending on a drug.
Teen Generation: Do drugs ever depress you?
Elaine: No. I've got a lot of problems at my house and just to get away, I take my dog for a walk and smoke a joint. When I smoke pot the problems just sort of go away. Sometimes, I just keep smkoing and smoking, I don't want to stop.
Don: If I'm depressed and I take a drug, I forget about it. If there was ever a third world war, I'd just carry a chuck of hash with me the whole time. You'd have to or you'd go nuts. Also, I'm an audiophile and when I listen to music, it sounds better with a buzz. But that's not really a good reason.
Elaine: Concerts sound better...
Janet: and louder.
Don: I've never gone to a concert straight. Getting wasted is just the thing to do. If a guy is straight, it gets boring and monotonous - just watching the same group do the same thing over and over.
Teen Generation: Do you ever worry about getting caught?
Don: A few guys in school have been busted. A friend of mine had 3 grams of hash and the cop caught him. They charged him with trafficking. He had to pay a big fine and he's got a criminal record now.
Teen Generation: Do most of your friends drink and take drugs?
Elaine & Janet: Yes
Don: Yes, but lately I've noticed a lot of my friends have been quitting.
Teen Generation: What do you think of those who don't drink or take drugs?
Don: They're smart.
©1999 TG Magazine/Le Magazine TG
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