GRADE 6 PUPILS TO RECEIVE DRUG-EDUCATION HANDBOOK

Grade 6 pupils will receive a 144-page drug education handbook,
courtesy of city police.

Community Services officer Const. Alison Sharp said the books are used
during the city police service's VIP (Values, Influences and Peers)
program, a multi-week course focusing on issues teens face.

When officers speak to pupils about drugs, an emergency room nurse at
the Peterborough Regional Health Centre will join them, she said.

The book includes information on drugs, drug effects and drug
overdose, as well as information about smoke, alcohol and steroid use.

"It gives them all the information they could hope to have," she
said.

Sharp said the books are also handed to parents whose child may be
involved with drugs.

The book also includes a DVD featuring interactive games, animated
characters and quizzes.

Sharp said students receive a code after watching the DVD and can
enter an online contest to win prizes.