METH JUST WANTS MORE METH: PRESENTER

"You will die," the man with the scarred face says. "You'll go crazy
first, but you will die."

"It's like a little box that you are trapped inside and you can't get
out of," a woman says.

"I never thought I would try to kill my mother or suffocate my dog,"
another girl shares.

The statements are made by people in a film shown to Grade 10, 11 and
12 students at Sullivan Heights Secondary. They aren't actors
speaking in Death By Jib, but real people sharing their experiences
with crystal methamphetamine.

The film was part of a presentation given by the Crystal Meth Society
of B.C. on Wednesday.

With a tower of rodent poison, anti-freeze, cat litter, paint thinner
and drain cleaner - household products commonly used to make crystal
meth - stacked on the stage, presenter Mark McLaughlin explained to
the 300 students how meth gives a "false promise" to everyone it meets.

To someone who's shy, the drug offers a less inhibited personality.
For a person that's overweight, it offers weight loss. To an athlete,
it provides greater energy.

"The thing is," said McLaughlin, executive director of the society,
"meth just wants more meth. Meth has got no time for sports."

The graphic film illustrated the relentless nature of meth, which
pushes users to get high over and over to dodge the excruciating pain
of withdrawal. Photos of emaciated bodies, scab-covered arms and
addicts in crazed, hallucinogenic states - a result of the brain
damage caused by the chemical-laden drug - flashed on screen, causing
some at the presentation to flinch or look away.

The presentation also informed students about the drug's forms -
powder, pill, or crystals - and its various names on the street -
ice, shard, glass, jib.

When McLaughlin asked the auditorium of teens how many knew someone
who'd tried crystal meth, a smattering of students raised their
hands. However, when he asked the same about ecstasy, almost the
entire audience responded.

He pointed out that meth can be readily cut into other drugs,
including ecstasy, cocaine (powder and crack) and sprayed on
marijuana, so those experimenting with could be exposed to meth unknowingly.

McLaughlin began the crystal meth society with his wife after one of
their children became involved with meth several years ago.

For more information check www.crystalmethbc.com