FIGHTING METH WITH WORDS

Project: New calendar will keep parents informed.

Kicking drug and alcohol addictions is a gradual process that can only
be dealt with one day at a time.

So that local youth never see such days, the Crystal Clear on Meth
Task Force is in the process of compiling a comprehensive 13-month
calendar/ schedule planner, to be distributed to all residents of
Enderby, Salmon Arm and Sicamous, containing a wealth of resources,
tips and information targeted towards young families.

"It's geared to sort of the early family years, the sort of child
years, and how families can prepare," explained task force chair Pam
Beech. "So it's not targeting how you deal with your youth who's
experimenting -- it's giving them some tips around the kinds of things
you can do as a parent as your children are growing up, nurturing them
to be stronger and more resistant, and definitely providing them with
information."

The task force began work on the calendar last summer with financial
help from local service clubs.

With the calendar now in a fine-tuning phase, Beech said task force is
still $12,000 short of its production costs. She and the task force
are hoping other groups in the communities the task force serves will
come on board to sponsor the calendar project.

"We've had a fair chunk donated to us to get us going by the evening
Rotary Club in Salmon Arm," said Beech. "We're hoping to have support
from other service clubs in the area. We have support from our Lions
Club out here, the Lions club in Enderby, and we're approaching other
Salmon Arm groups."

Crystal meth, or methamphetamine, is a highly addictive drug that is
cheap and easy to produce.

According to RCMP Sgt. Jim Harrison, crystal meth first appeared in
Sicamous cut into crack cocaine. Beech acknowledges that crystal meth
is not the only harmful drug affecting residents in Shuswap
communities. But, she says, it is here, and that it typically develops
as part of a progression.

"Our communities are actually experiencing other drugs first, youth
will experience other drugs first, and crystal meth may be an end
point," said Beech. "We really want to prevent that endpoint because
crystal meth is really damaging."

What's aiding the spread of crystal meth use, according to Beech, is
that it can be ingested in a smokable form, as opposed through
injection. She says those who have smoked cigarettes are more
comfortable with progressing to other smokable addictive substances.

"You start to realize this really strong connection between cigarette
smoking as sort of an almost socially acceptable form of smoking than
marijuana," said Beech. "And as you progress into marijuana, there are
all these other smokable forms. And because crystal meth has a
smokable form, that is another thing that makes it that much more
dangerous. As with cocaine, a smokable form makes a drug a more
dangerous form because people are more comfortable."

This is why the calendar will provide helpful information for a
spectrum of addictions including alcohol and cigarettes. The task
force hopes to have the calendar in the mail by August 2007.