DISTRICT'S ANTI-DRUG FILM STEERS CLEAR OF SCARE TACTICS

Nancy Reagan isn't there telling you to just say no.

There aren't any eggs that are your brain, slopped into a frying pan.

What Langley School District's film called Project Resiliency does have is
frank, candid, and mature discussion about youth and drugs.

And that discussion comes from Langley youth themselves.

The decision not to create a "scare tactic" film was a conscious one, said
Barry MacDonald, a program coordinator in the district's student services
department

"Kids are smart," he said. "Kids see through manipulation ... and the
bottom line is kids do drugs because they feel good.

"Kids turn off right away when we say [drugs] are bad, don't do it."

Most important, MacDonald said, Project Resiliency is a film for youth, by
youth.

"We knew the message for youth had to come from youth," he said.

The 22-minute film, which features Langley youth talking about their
struggles with substance abuse, will have its first public screening
Monday, April 25, at 7 p.m., at Brookswood secondary school.

Admission is free, and audience members are encouraged to arrive early to
secure parking, as another event is also occurring at the school at the
same time.