DRUG EXPERT TALKS TO STUDENTS

Weyburn's students from elementary grades up to high school at the
Weyburn Comprehensive School will be getting extensive up-to-date
information about the danger of drugs, with the public to benefit as
well with three evening presentations, by a retired police officer.

The Weyburn Council on Alcohol and Drug Abuse (WECADA) has set up an
ambitious schedule for retired detective Steve Walton, a 25-year
veteran of drug and law enforcement, from Wednesday, Nov. 22 to
Friday, Nov. 24.

He will be presenting information in schools each of those three days,
and each evening from 7 to 9 p.m. he will put on a seminar for the
public or for the community.

The first evening, on Nov. 22, he will give a presentation to the
First Responders at the Fire Hall; on Thursday, Nov. 23, Walton will
talk about the parental approach to street drugs, in a overview on the
hows and whys of drug abuse in today's culture, to be held at the Comp
School, and Friday night's presentation is entitled "The Big Five",
also at the Comp. In the latter presentation, he will talk about the
five most widely-used drugs, including marijuana, heroin, cocaine,
methamphetamines and phencyclidine.

"WECADA is very excited about being able to bring Det. Walton to
Weyburn, and is hopeful for a good turnout to all the evening
presentations," said WECADA board member Lise Soles.

"No matter how informed we are individually or as a community, it is
always good to remind ourselves about what to look for in others who
may be abusing substances, how to handle these situations, and how to
prevent substance abuse. WECADA believes that knowledge is power and
that this speaker will prove to be a wealth of knowledge for all who
attend," she added.

On Wednesday he will speak at Souris and Radville Regional High
schools; on Thursday, he visits Haig, Assiniboia Park and Queen
Elizabeth schools in the morning, and talks to the Comp students in
the afternoon; on Friday, he will talk to the Bridge School, St.
Dominic Savio, will be featured at a luncheon for the business
community at noon at McKenna Hall, and will address St. Michael Junior
High in the afternoon.

At the evening presentations, there will be silver collection taken to
help offset some of his expenses.

For the last 10 years of his service as a police officer, Walton was
assigned to a Drug Unit, in which capacity he supervised an undercover
street team and managed more than 120 undercover drug operations, and
780 drug transactions. He has personally attended over 300 marijuana
grow operations, and has written two books about street drugs,
including talking about club drugs and designer drugs.

Walton currently is recognized in courts as an expert witness on
drugs, is a drug awareness instructor for the PARTY program, and is an
active instructor in the Addictions Studies faculty at Mount Royal
College in Calgary.