VIVID IMAGES DETAIL THE LIFE OF DRUG ADDICTS

He has a slide presentation that shows a person emaciated after years
of meth abuse. There's a close up of "meth mouth," a dentist's
nightmare with rotting teeth and gums.

McLaughlin shows a video in which addicts share their stories, and how
they all wished they'd never started using meth. One girl, a
recovering meth addict, tears up when she talks about the people she
helped get hooked on drugs.

The images, however, that draw the most disgust on this day at Fulton,
is the tape of an addict injecting into an arm that McLaughlin says
"looks like hamburger meat."

And a shot of a person who has literally picked away their skin from
their forearms.

"As a teacher, kids learn many ways and one of the ways they like the
most is visual stuff," said Doug Rogers, drug and alcohol counsellor
for the Vernon School District, who called McLaughlin's presentation
"wonderful."

"They need to see it. They need to talk, show and listen, and when
they see them all, it helps us learn. They get the impact that the
drug will have and the negative impact it will have on their lives."

Xavier Morris, a Grade 9 student at Fulton, called McLaughlin's
presentation "powerful and true."

"It had everything I was looking for, real people talking, and real
clips," said Morris.

Since the society was formed in 2005, McLaughlin has been doing his
presentation for 30 months, and says the last 10 months have been the
most productive, with more than 22,000 students having seen the show.

"I can't put numbers on it (how many people will be addicted to meth).
Even if they're exposed one time, I can't guarantee they'll be
addicted, but I can't guarantee they won't be addicted," he told the
students.

"Does this sound like a worthwhile deal yet?"

McLaughlin told the students his society is looking for volunteers,
leaders and participants to help educate people in the community.

Rogers said crystal meth is an emerging drug and is around in the
Okanagan Valley.

For more information, you can visit the society's web site at
www.crystalmethbc.ca.