KIDS TALKING TO KIDS

Peer Outreach Seen As Best Way To Fight It

Peer outreach -- otherwise known as kids talking to kids -- is a valuable
weapon in the war on methamphetamine addiction, Viviana Zanocco of the
Vancouver Coastal Health Authority said.

"We need kids talking about their experiences," she said as a three-day
summit on methamphetamine addiction wrapped up in Vancouver yesterday.

"Kids talking to other kids is really valuable.

"There's a theatre group that came out of the methamphetamine response
committee.

"They have created a theatre piece out of their own experiences.

"That's what we find really gets kids talking, because they don't need
another person in a suit standing up in front of them saying, 'Drugs are
addictive and if you get addicted then you will get ugly.'"

Not much is known about methamphetamine addiction, compared with other
harmful drugs that have been with us for generations.

But the techniques used to help cocaine addicts may work, said Joanna
Ashworth, director of programs for Simon Fraser University's Wosk Centre
for Dialogue.

"There are some indications that the approaches that are used for treating
people with cocaine addictions will be quite useful . . . in the treatment
process for meth users," she said.

Ashworth said the problem of methamphetamine use began in the West and has
spread east, mirroring a similar pattern in the U.S. The reason isn't known.

About 250 delegates -- including front-line workers, researchers,
educators, police, government policy makers, pharmacists, representatives
of social-service agencies, parents and users -- attended the three-day summit.

Their conclusions about how to prevent the spread of the problem -- in
addition to peer outreach -- will be ready in the new year.