STUDENTS HEAR METH MESSAGE

Organizers of last week's local crystal meth forums said the events
were even more successful than they had hoped for.

Mark McLaughlin of the Crystal Meth Society of B.C. spent last week
touring local schools doing the first meth recognition and prevention
presentations that the society does routinely around Victoria and the
Lower Mainland.

"When we arrived in Prince George I set a goal of reaching 2,500
students - an optimistic goal - and we saw 3,000 in four days,"
McLaughlin said. "The support was just amazing, and we got fantastic
responses from the kids. They had a lot of good questions for us."

Meth, the latest drug that dealers are especially targeting at youth,
is eating a hole in the fabric of society. Police, health
professionals, educators, and all levels of government have taken
recent stands against the relatively new narcotic. It is easy
(although toxic) to make in household labs, alarmingly cheap to
concoct, has initial mental effects that exceed cocaine or heroin in
many respects, but it is devastating to the brain and body. Addiction
is severe and painful even compared to other hard drugs.

"Our goal is to deliver this inform across the entire province, and
assist the government in their decision making," said McLaughlin,
whose daughter fell into meth addiction at one point. "The huge
response in P.G. indicates there is a noteworthy audience out there,
and Prince George is not special in their concern over crystal meth,
that is a concern that needs to be addressed with education far and
wide, really."

Based on their presentations here, other local towns have asked them
to come speak in their communities. The RCMP also met with the society
while in Prince George and they have started talking about future
collaborations to educate the public about this drug. For that,
though, the group needs financial support and community
partnerships.

McLaughlin said the society plans a return visit to Prince George in
early April and there are hopes for a public forum at Vanier Hall.