NEW FILM A TOOL FOR SCHOOLS

A new documentary featuring Maple Ridge youth that tells about
pressures to use drugs and alcohol will be used as an educational
tool in schools.

Rewind contains teen drug use, partying and unabashed language.
Producers Mike Neitzel and the Alouette Addictions Society hope the
film at least gives youth the chance to say how they feel.

In the film, alcohol was portrayed as the biggest problem youth face.
The use of street drugs like ecstasy and cocaine was also portrayed.
Crystal meth and magic mushrooms were less common, according to the
interviews in the 45-minute film.

Youth were blunt about their experimentations and reasons behind
them. Most said it was either to be cool, or to escape reality and
life's troubles.

The premier of the film raised $5,480 towards the T2 program,
Alouette's initiative for youth prevention and intervention.

Inspirational speaker Jade Bell spoke prior to rolling the film,
relaying his message on the impacts of drug use through a computer.

An overdose on heroin and cocaine nearly killed him in 1997, cutting
off oxygen to his brain long enough to leave him blind, mute and quadriplegic.

Today, Bell travels to high schools around the country, the monotone
of his computer generated voice serving as an impassioned warning to
youth abusing street drugs.

"Believe me, if I had a chance to rewrite my history, I would do it
in a heartbeat," he said.

He called alcohol "the biggest gateway to substance abuse" and
cautioned, "if you abuse one of these drugs, it's like a party
invitation to all of them."

Bell's words set the stage for Rewind. Some youth in the film were
drug users, some recovered, and some had never used at all.