DON'T DO DRUGS

Members of the Falun Rural Crime Watch (FRCW) were astounded by the
startling revelations told to them by a former drug dealer and trafficker.

Mike Ryan, program director of Clean Scene Network for Youth Society,
lectured a group of 50 people April 3, about the culture of drugs in
which we live.

At the heart of the Clean Scene group is their desire to do more drug
education in schools, a goal which the FRCW strongly supports.

"Some schools don't even get drug. Some are lucky to get an hour's
worth of education during their whole school careers.

"We carry a message to kids that they don't want to be where we have
been."

Ryan told the sordid story of when he became a drug addict at the
tender age of 13.

"I used to be a drug trafficker and I used to be a drug addict. I
started at 13 and got out of it when I was in my 30s."

While Ryan couldn't talk about the specific steps he used to get out
of addiction, what he could say was that, "I was helped by a group of
people. That's how I got straight. Today is my 20th year of being
clean. I got clean April 9, 1988."

Many of the drugs youth are addicted to are sold on the street, but
dispensed in the hospital. "Kids are addicted to morphine sulphate,
Demerol and codeine.

"A lot of people get Tylenol 3 with codeine. Someone gets a root canal
and some dentists will give you 30 of them. Our society is very scared
of pain."

And it's not just kids who are addicted, it's seniors as well.
"Addiction among seniors is very high."

At the core of the problem is governments and advertisers who seem
unable or unwilling to curb the drug message consumers hear every day
on television, Ryan said.

"The lack of government enforcement around drug companies (is
astounding). It is illegal in Canada to allow prescription drugs to be
shown on TV, yet what do we see every evening?"

One of Ryan's most hated drug commercials is for Celebrex, an
arthritis pain treatment.

"In the commercials, they don't tell you what the drug is or what it's
for."

He said the ownership of advertising firms by drug companies is a huge
concern.

"Who owns the top 11 advertising firms in the world? Pharmaceutical
companies. They control a huge portion of the media."

He laments the fact that health is not based on wellness anymore, but
on sickness. If you're sick, take a pill, he quipped.

There is also a great connection between crimes committed and drug
use.

According to Calgary and Edmonton crime statistics, 90 per cent of
armed robberies are committed by drug-addicted people and 74 per cent
of property crime.

But Ryan was not just about pointing out the problems, but also
offered solutions.

"If we spent a tenth on prevention of what Stockwell Day just spend on
hiring more police, it might make a huge dent in crime rate.

"We also need good education with a personal development spin. We
don't teach kids how to be good human beings."

One of his most controversial suggestion involves teaching ethics to
students. Many think this type of teaching is in the purview of the
parent or even the church.

"We must start paying teachers to teach ethics, which is
decision-making. It has nothing to do with morality. Many parents
aren't ethical so how can they teach ethics?"

Two of the most common and readily available drugs, tobacco and
alcohol, are responsible for more deaths than street drugs, yet
neither are as controlled as they should be.

"Most people are surprised when we present on this topic. A lot of
people are a little naive of drugs in general," said Ryan.

Falun Rural Crime Watch president Vance Henke was very impressed by
Ryan.

"He tells it like it is and doesn't sugarcoat anything. He's a good
speaker and gets through to people. I'm sure he'll get through to the
kids."