'CRYSTAL DARKNESS'

Some Magdalena students and parents braved high winds Thursday
evening to attend a viewing of "Crystal Darkness," about the dangers
of methamphetamine, at the school's Fine Arts center. The show aired
simultaneously on TV stations statewide.

After the show, Marshal Larry Cearly talked further with the students
about the drug as well as his own experiences personally dealing with
local people who were using or cooking it.

"It's here at the school. It's here in Magdalena. I don't want you to
think it's not in Magdalena," Cearly said in his presentation.

In the show "Crystal Darkness: Meth's Deadly Assault on Our Youth," former
drug users talked about their experiences using the drug and the problems
they encountered because of it. The former drug users, as well as people
in law enforcement, religious leaders, doctors and political figures,
talked about how the drug affects the body and the mind, how it affects the
families of the users, and how it affects society.

The former users related stories, such as one young man who used the
candles on his brother's wedding cake to light a pipe to smoke meth,
to the often degrading acts people will do to get the drug.

The special went into topics of how important it is to have parent
involvement in children's lives, as well as the need for community
support and treatment available.

Cearly related stories of how meth affects Magdalena, including
having to respond to the schools once to treat a boy who smoked a
marijuana cigarette that was unknowingly laced with meth. The boy in
question, Cearly said, received life-saving treatment and lived
through the experience.

The marshal also said they recently arrested a man who was using a
room at a local motel to cook the drug.

Cearly also talked about the common household items that can be used
to cook the drug, as well as the short- and long-term affects of
using meth. He also shared photographs showing the rapid aging of
people who use the drug as well as physical signs of drug use,
including visible needle marks and skin lesions.

The San Miguel Church and Socorro Baptist Temple also had free public
viewings of the program.