CRYSTAL METH SOCIETY BRINGS MESSAGE TO 1,170 KIDS IN NORTH

Some Of The Smallest And Most Rural Schools In The Region Just Got A
Dose Of Meth Reality.

The Crystal Meth Society of B.C. did its meth show to about a dozen
schools in the area between Fraser Lake and Houston last week, and
reached their target for the province in the process.

"We got quite far afield, all in School District 91," said society
founder Mark McLaughlin. "We went to Grassy Plains, Granisle, Topley
and other centres. We got in front of a lot of audiences we don't
typically have access to. We got in front of 1,170 students, many of
them in elementary school."

The trip north pushed them to the edge of the goal they set for
themselves when the society first formed: reach 30,000 students in
B.C. with the anti-meth message. On Monday they passed that mark.

A Prince George resident recently told The Citizen about personal
experiences with meth and how lack of knowledge led to a single
moment in which everything dear was lost.

"I was married, I had two kids I loved, I worked part time at a
home-based business," said the recovering addict. "I had never done
drugs in my life; I was content in my life."

But someone very close was addicted to meth. One day, when the
person's kids and spouse were gone for the weekend, that addicted
friend showed up at the door.

The person knew about meth and had even studied it to learn more
about what this friend was dealing with, but it did not convey the
addictive power of the drug.

"I thought I would try a little just to see what my friend was
seeing. Wham. From the first time I was totally hooked. I wanted more
right away, there was no stopping that feeling of wanting more. We
stayed in the house for two days, then drove off. All I did was pack
my duffel bag. My spouse and my kids didn't know a thing, they just
came home to an empty house. I was gone."

It took years of sinking into habitual use and significant crime to
pay for the drug (it became more than just meth, by the end) before
the addict was able to restore some footholds toward a life that
didn't involve using meth. By then the marriage was gone, the kids
were estranged, all possessions lost, harsh legal knots were tied and
all extended family put through the emotional wringer.

This case, drastic as it sounds, is not uncommon. Meth is a drug that
has unprecedented abilities to hook a person, and is so cheap and
easy to make that it makes trafficking to children and adults alike
almost effortless for organized crime.

McLaughlin has given several presentations in and around Prince
George, but this trip was unique in that most of the schools had
mostly small and rural populations, and the entire trip was paid for
by School District 91. The cost was about $2,500 for four days of
presentations to three or four schools per day.

"Meth is as prevalent there (rural northern communities) than
anywhere. No community is immune to this danger," he said. "Audiences
there were looking for hope and optimism similar to what any city
audience would. I would say they were keen to receive information
about this street drug. Their basis of knowledge is seeing how
messed-up people in their community are on meth, but the opportunity
exists to bring more meth education to them, they are quite open to
receiving it, and we were happy to provide that."