HEARTBROKEN TEEN HOPES HE CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE BY SHARING WITH OTHER
SCHOOL KIDS THE STORY OF HIS FRIEND'S TRAGIC DEATH

On April 24, 15-year-old Alex Williams hugged his close friend Cassie
(Eyre) Williams, promised to meet up with her later and then
disappeared into the raucus crowd at Rock 'N' Ride.

It was the last time he'd see her alive.

The following day, Alex learned that Cassie, 14, had overdosed on the
club drug ecstacy and died. Another friend of Cassie's also overdosed,
but survived and is recovering.

"It all happened five minutes after I talked to her," he recalled
yesterday. "I had no idea. I didn't see the paramedics or anything."

Now Alex is trying to wring some good out of the nightmarish tragedy
by telling classes of kids about Cassie and the effect her death has
had on him.

"It hurts everyone around you," he explained. "It's hurtful to you,
your family and your friends."

Cassie reportedly took six hits of "E," all of which were triple the
standard dosage. It was a case that stunned the city and brought heavy
criticism onto Rock 'N' Ride, a monthly dance party at West Edmonton
Mall for kids aged 12 to 17.

SUSPENDED EVENT

Mall management has since suspended Rock 'N' Ride and is reviewing the
program. WEM officials haven't said whether it's directly connected
with Cassie's death, but they hope to reintroduce some kind of teen
event in the fall.

In the days after Cassie's death, Alex got in touch with Darren Herd,
an outreach worker with Youth Addiction Awareness, a group that works
in several Edmonton schools.

Herd has arranged for Alex and a few other kids connected with the
tragedy to talk to classes about how it's affected them.

"It was just incredible," Herd said. "From teachers crying to kids
crying. You could just hear a pin drop when the kids were talking. You
could tell from the kids following up with Alex and the girls in the
hallway that it was a hit. They really touched them."

Jennifer Allen, Alex's principal at Highlands junior high school, said
it's an important message for kids to hear, but it's also really
helpful for Alex.

"It's the time when kids really need support, but it's also a time
when you can make a real impact (with others) because the emotions are
so raw," she said.

Alex said he's never done ecstasy, and only smoked pot a couple times
a few years ago.

But, he said, he often went to Rock 'N' Ride and even though there was
plenty of security, a lot of kids smuggled drugs in.

'PRETTY EASY'

"It's pretty easy," he said. "I could hide stuff in my afro if I
wanted to."

His mom, Mimi Williams, doubts that shutting down Rock 'N' Ride will
do anything to curb rampant drug abuse among teens. "It's not about
the venue," she said. "The issue is, are we giving our kids the tools
to make good choices?"

As for kids having easy access to illicit substances, she said, "I'd
suggest that describes every single school in the city."

She suggested that had the kids been partying in a park or off in the
bush somewhere, it might have ended even more tragically.

"Kids who are so inclined to do drugs are still going to do them. At
least (at Rock 'N' Ride) there was security around to call for help
right away. Otherwise, there might have been two deaths."