CRYSTAL METH DOCUMENTARY TELLS SCARY TRUTH

Aaron Webb looks like an average 22 year old, but his journey has
been an uneasy one, spending a third of his life addicted to Crystal Meth.

Aaron Webb lost a third of his life to crystal meth-amphetamine.

The former drug addict was in Golden recently to talk about his
addiction and share with that community how crystal meth nearly
ruined his life. At Golden Secondary School on Oct. 19, two
presentations were made - to high school students and the community
at large - regarding the 22 year old's journey.

"I spent seven years of my life (screwed) up, as high as you could
possibly get. I remember maybe a couple weeks - a few moments here
and there and that's it," Webb says.

Before becoming addicted to the potent chemical, Webb says he was
like many other youth in Hope.

"I was a fun-loving, skateboarding, climbing trees kind of kid," Webb
says. "I remember seeing those people in the downtown east side and
thinking I would never be like them. Then I smoked dope and my
priorities changed."

Webb was 14 years old when he first smoked marijuana. His habit
quickly progressed to crystal meth.

His spiral into addiction was documented recently in a film called
Crystal Fear, Crystal Clear. The documentary followed the lives of
three youth for more than a year who had used crystal meth. The film
showed what the drug did to Webb, how it affected his family and what
his life was really like when using the drug.

Webb was documented at the height of his addiction. The young man was
ready to throw away everything he had - a strong family, a future,
his schooling - all for crystal meth.

"I don't need to torture myself. I can get high if I want to," he
said in the documentary after he had lost his job and was attending
school sporadically.

"I had no hope. I felt I had no hope whatsoever," Webb says. "I
thought this was going to be the end for me. As much as I hated it, I
was just so ready to accept it."

He explains while he knew it was hurting him to keep doing crystal
meth, he could not stop using.

"When I was high, the whole time I knew what I was doing and I didn't
care. The ability to just give a (crap) was not there," he says.
"From time to time, my friends and I would get high and have a big
discussion about how bad it was. We'd be like, this is horrible."

But for Webb, the moment of truth came when the documentary was
released last October. His mom brought a copy home and was watching
it when he came into the house.

"I saw my mom bawling, and it finally clicked; you know, not only do
I hurt all the time and I can't eat anything, I realized what I was
doing to my mom," Webb admits. "She's done everything for me, made
sure I never went without anything, and look at what I was doing to
myself. That's what really kicked it in for me."

He had a support system in place with his mom and his school
principal, which were featured in the documentary. However, when it
came down to it, Webb says he had to get off the drug on his own.

"If I was going to do this, I had to do it myself. Otherwise, it
wasn't going to work."

He didn't use the most conventional methods to quit, either.

"I smoked a hell of a lot of dope, smoked a lot of weed to keep my
mind off it," Webb says.

After a couple weeks, he smoked less and less, finally quitting drugs
altogether.

With one-year clean this October, Webb reflects on what might have
become of him if he hadn't quit.

"I must have lucked out or something," he says. "If I hadn't stopped,
it felt like I wouldn't live much longer, like I could not go on much longer."

When he stopped using, Webb says his whole life turned around.

"Everything changed. I'm not hardcore religious, but it must have
been God's plan."

He thinks about the future now and has big plans for a life in the
music industry. He has formed a band - the Thought Police - is
writing music and hopes to organize some tour dates soon.

"I'm really into my music now," Webb states. "I'm not content to work
my life away, come home, sit on my (butt) and watch TV. That's not
what I'm about, that's not what I do."

He's learned it is good to just be himself.

"The biggest thing is how great it is to just be a regular, normal
guy, to be healthy and have good, solid friends. It feels great," he exclaims.

Webb does not crave crystal meth and steers clear of other drugs.

To stay away from the lifestyle, Webb moved to Surrey, B.C. He works
for a framing business and says that move helped him stay away from
the lure of crystal meth. He still has friends in Hope who are still
addicted to crystal meth.

"I don't want to see them that way," Webb admits. "It would break my
heart. I know they're not doing good."

For both showings of the documentary, Webb was on hand to answer
questions audience members had about the drug. The director, producer
and his school principal were there as well. More than 520 people
attended the presentations.

Webb says he is OK with people watching his lowest moments since
revealing what crystal meth does to a person may help others decide
not to use the drug.

"Why shelter people, especially young people, from the way things
really are," he asks. "It's better to be a good example or a hideous
warning. And in a way, I get to be both. It doesn't bother me,
because if anybody needs to show what it's like, why not me?"

Webb has gone back to his hometown to speak to school children, one
class at a time, on the topic and hopes that might make the kids in
Hope think twice before trying crystal meth.

His message to kids is clear and comes from his heart.

"It's more fun to grow and learn and become a human being. Grow up.
It's way better than any dope."