LOCAL GROUP RECEIVES COUNTY GRANT WITH FOCUS ON METH

A Group of Kings Beach Teens Will Become Movie Producers, Actors and
Camera Operators This January -- All in an Effort to Educate the
Community About the Dangers of Methamphetamine.

In November, Placer County handed out six grants totaling $10,781
for production of a DVD for the county's campaign "It's a Fact: Meth
is our Problem." Sierra High School in Truckee received one of
the grants, while Kings Beach-based Creciendo Unidos, which focuses
on providing alcohol- and drug-free activities for Latino youth,
received another.

"It is based on the idea to keep Tahoe drug- and gang-free. Our goal
is to make it realistic and straight forward," Diana
Cristales-David, a Creciendo Unidos facilitator, said of the video.
"A lot of kids are struggling. It's gotten to the point where I
know so many kids who have used or are using [drugs]. I see it in
so many families."

Cristales-David said the teens involved in Creciendo Unidos will
work on the video, including those who have had problems with drugs
in the past. She said the group will try to show the video in
schools, at the Boys & Girls Club, the local television station, or
wherever they can show it.

"If kids feel like they belong to a group like Creciendo Unidos,
then they won't feel like they have to join a gang," said Sylvia
Doignon, another Creciendo Unidos facilitator.

Doignon said the group will begin making the video in January and
target it toward teens and families.

"It's been great to see the kids involved in a different type of
prevention," said Placer County Community Services Officer Kristen
Mann. "They are thinking out of the box."

Placer County's new meth prevention program aims to bring awareness
to increased meth use, according to the grant application.

"It's the fastest growing drug of abuse in all of
our neighborhoods," Placer County Sheriff Ed Bonner said in a news
release. "It's easy to make, it's cheap, it's available, it's
odorless and tasteless. It can be smoked and there's no odor. It can
also be snorted, ingested or injected."

About 4 percent of teens in Placer County have used methamphetamine,
according to Placer County Health Officer Dr. Richard Burton. That
is approximately 600 kids, Burton said.

Alan Hayashi, Placer County's prevention supervisor, said the
county's goal is to have youth send messages to other youth
regarding drugs and alcohol, rather than adults delivering that
message. The grant Sierra High School received was also awarded by
the county for production of an anti-methamphetamine video, to
be produced by teens for teens.

"Meth is one drug that seems to be cropping up lately," Hayashi
said. "It's out there."

Placer County joined other jurisdictions nationwide to celebrate
National Methamphetamine Awareness Day in November. Schools are also
stepping up meth education, starting as early as elementary school.

Stephanie Novick, Placer County's D.A.R.E officer, shows fifth
graders before and after photos of meth users, and Placer County
Community Services Officer Melinda Maehler will present the issue to
sixth, seventh and eighth graders at North Tahoe Middle School
during a drug and alcohol class in January.

In addition to Placer County's programs, Creciendo Unidos will ring
in the new year with its own "Keep Tahoe Drug and Gang Free" campaign.

"Some of the ideas we're looking at is the juxtaposition of the
beauty of Lake Tahoe and drug use," said Cristales-David.

What is Friday Night Live?

The California Friday Night Live (FNL) Program, which is funding a
portion of Placer County's anti-meth campaign, was developed in
1984. It began as a pilot program dedicated to reducing the number
of deaths and injuries caused by teen motorists driving under the
influence of alcohol and other drugs.

During the first years of the program, the youth involved were
organized into high school-based student action groups. The success
rate was so great that in 1988 a statewide office was established.

By 1990, the number of counties with the FNL Program had increased
300 percent and the main focus of the program began to shift from
one of preventing drinking and driving among teens to promoting
healthy lifestyles free of alcohol, tobacco, or other substance
abuse among youth.

- -- From the Friday Night Live Web site, www.fridaynightlive.org