PERSONAL ANTI-DRUG MESSAGES RESONATE

Renatta McCormick says she cried in Grade 8 when the Victoria branch
of Crystal Meth B.C. hosted a seminar at her school.

"You learn about drugs all the time at this age," Renatta, now 15,
concedes. "But it's usually from nurses and counsellors and cops and
stuff. [Crystal Meth B.C.] makes a point of having someone our age
who's a recovering meth addict come and speak, and that just makes it
so much more intense."

Along with about 50 of her schoolmates, Renatta spent a riveting
afternoon learning about the ins and outs of methamphetamine creation
and addiction, and the drastic consequences it's having on youth today.

Crystal methamphetamine, or "meth," is a popular but damaging street
drug made from ingredients such as battery acid, antifreeze and
over-the-counter cold medication. "Hearing about the way it totally
screwed over the life of this girl, it was like, wow, she's so
normal. She's just like us. It could've been any one of us."

Sadly, Renatta is right. Addiction has no prejudice. It affects
people of various ages, races, social classes and occupations.
However, its dangerous attraction to youth is becoming front and centre.

Statistics from the Crystal Meth Victoria Society say that in 2003
and 2004, 61 per cent of youth using the services of the Vancouver
Island Youth Detox Centre named crystal meth as the main drug they
used. Just two years earlier in 2000-01, the number was approximately
11 per cent.

This is where non-profit, community-based group Crystal Meth Victoria
Society comes into play. Firmly believing that education about the
drug's dangers and disastrous effects is the key tool in prevention,
their in-school awareness seminars are merely one resource they
strive to offer. For youth like Renatta, the group's hands-on
involvement with school districts in B.C. is having a powerful effect.

"It's a bit hard to explain," says Renatta's classmate, Shane Roman,
14. "There's just something about talking to someone who's your age
and in some ways, going through the same things. Hearing their take
on the drug scene and the consequences they've faced makes it seem
like such a reality. It makes you go, 'Whoa. This is an actual problem.' "

Being in my final year of high school, I've long been the prime
target of anti-drug movements. I've counted ceiling tiles in
countless classrooms while being given "the talk" about sex, drugs
and the new millennium. But I have to agree with Renatta and Roman:
when the Crystal Meth Victoria Society came to our school last fall,
it had a unique impact.

There was no self-pity in the young volunteer's story, and no
dramatization. She told it like it was: no euphemisms, no grandeur,
completely and utterly relatable. It was creepy. One classmate left
the room in tears and didn't come back for the rest of the session.
Afterwards, this got me wondering why there has been such a lack of
youth advocates in our schools on topics like this. Are society
co-ordinators worried about the lack of articulation in teenagers?
Lack of integrity? Lack of professionalism? If the answer is at least
a partial yes, then it is indeed ironic.

I think every presenter brings their own perspective to the table, be
it that of a city police officer, a mental health professional, a
veteran volunteer, or a teen with a story to tell. I think the key to
engaging an audience is the diversity of the speakers and the
information presented.

The statistics and the medical consequences are one thing, but a
story that rivets, from a voice close to home, is another.

Lana Hall is a student at the School District 63 Individual Learning Centre.