KIDS LEARN ABOUT DANGERS OF METH

Mark and Ruth McLaughlin have toured the province for several years,
talking to more than 25,000 students about the devastation caused by
crystal methamphetamine.

They can now continue their work after the ministry of education
awarded $50,000 the Crystal Meth Society of B.C. last week.

The couple is also responsible for starting a 120-member meth task
force in Victoria after they discovered their teen daughter was
addicted to the drug that changed their lives.

The task force has since disbanded but the society remains and
continues to provide parents, teachers and youth with information and
resources.

The society is also credited for the launch of the Beacon of Hope
House, a six-bed residential treatment facility for males between the
ages of 13 and 18 in Victoria. After two years of lobbying, the
society found several agencies to sponsor the site that is run by the
Salvation Army.

This week, the McLaughlins toured the Nanaimo-Ladysmith school
district visiting six schools, delivering their Be Crystal Clear meth
info shows to more than 3,500 students. The goal is to stop youth from
trying meth to eliminate the clientele that dealers serve.

The Victoria couple has spent most of their time in the southern
Island region, but with successful trips to B.C.'s Interior and to
central Vancouver Island, they hope to expand to all corners of the
province as they continue to give children and parents the resources
they need.

When their teen daughter was hooked on meth in 2005, the McLaughlins
had difficulty finding help.

"We couldn't find any information, but we did find a lot of other
parents in similar situations," Mark said after his second show in
Nanaimo on Wednesday.

During the next five years, the society wants to reach every student
in the province and has applied to all levels of government for
funding in order to create regional teams to deliver the message. For
more information, visit www.crystalmethbc.com.