METH HAS A DIRE EFFECT, TEEN WARNS

Student Snorted Drug Off Her Textbooks at School

Her crystal meth addiction led her into friends' washrooms, where she
smoked the dangerous drug in a broken lightbulb.

Jill Gannon, 16, has been off crystal meth for nearly a year and gets
repulsed when she thinks about how the drug took over her life.

"I'm disgusted with myself when I think of how I used to sit around
all sketched out, worrying about whether someone was going to catch
me," she told the Daily News.

Gannon also applauds the provincial government for its announcement
on Monday to launch a $3-million school and public education campaign
to battle crystal meth.

The Five Acres alternative school student wants others to understand
the disastrous side-effects of the illicit drug. She still remembers
that dreadful sober day when she caught herself in the mirror. Her
105-pound body revealed every rib in her scraggly body.

"I would barely ever sleep and I lost 60 pounds in just a couple of
months," Gannon said. "I didn't look very healthy."

She has come a long way from the student who snorted crystal meth
from her textbook in the bathroom stall at John Barsby Community
School. Gannon now weighs 165 pounds and feels "great."

Thanks to Narcotics Anonymous she has had a full recovery and wants
to warn others about the drug that consumed her life, leading her to
ignore even basic personal hygiene.

"It's really important to raise awareness for kids who don't really
know what crystal meth is so they don't end up trying it," Gannon
said. "At first when you do it it's really fun and then you do it
again and again and then you just get hooked."

Recent studies show that 5% of B.C. secondary school students in
Grade 7 to 12 might have tried crystal meth. Gannon has one message
for those interested in trying the highly addictive amphetamine:
"It's not worth it. I still have to pay consequences for the actions
I took when I was using."

Gannon continues her community service has to report to a probation
officer because of theft and assault charges that she says would have
never happened if she was sober.

Crystal meth is extremely difficult to stop using, said Gannon, who
was sick to her stomach with high fevers for days after quitting.