A LOOK AT DRUG ABUSE WITHOUT 'SUGAR-COATING'

The video shows an angry, teenage girl with a know-it-all attitude,
continually dropping the f-bomb as she justifies her drug use.

"I say, 'It's O f---in' K'," 18-year-old Kristie Swenson scoffs.

"I'm a stoner," she proclaims.

The clip, from an interview captured on film, appeared in the first
season of the SCN, Regina-based television series Drug Class. On
Wednesday as she stood before an auditorium of students at Dr. Martin
LeBoldus High School, Swenson, now 20, admitted she is embarrassed by
that particular scene, but has no regrets about participating in the
series.

"I see someone completely different; that's not me," Swenson says in a
scene from the second season of the 13-part series, which premieres
tonight at 9 p.m. on SCN.

"Drug Class made me see myself for who I was -- no sugar-coating it. I
did not like the girl I saw," Swenson told those gathered for the
program's launch. "Somebody took over my body, and it scares me."

"One of the good things, though, about everyone being able to see me
act like an idiot is that, hopefully, it makes people look at
themselves," she added.

The Gemini Award-winning series, produced by Cooper Rock Pictures,
weaves together stories of typical teens like Swenson struggling with
drug and alcohol addiction, their parents' challenges, and the classes
taught by Regina addictions counsellor Rand Teed. While the first
season focused on the effects of drugs, this season will look at
making changes and regaining control.

This year will feature new youths, follow some of the previous ones,
and include a new online element. Teed will be available for a live
online (scn.ca/drugclass) chat for a half-hour after tonight's
program. People posing questions may remain anonymous.

A retired teacher, Teed has been bringing his drug classes to Regina
schools for the last eight years.

He teaches harm reduction, has a non-judgmental approach, and doesn't
shy away from speaking about his own history of substance abuse.

Teed believes the series is effective because it's not simply him
talking.

"When a kid or parent sees someone of that age talking about 'this
happened to me' ... that makes it way less frightening," Teed said.

While educational, Drug Class also includes a hard dose of reality. In
one clip, a teenage girl says, "I laid down and passed out and woke up
with some guy on top of me." A parent speaks emotionally about her
feelings of failure: "My job as a parent is to protect."

Swenson turned to drugs -- marijuana, LSD, ecstasy, ketamine, "pretty
much anything" -- at age 17 to fit in at her Regina high school. She
overdosed at one point and ended up comatose for eight hours. Even
then, even after treatment in an expensive, U.S. anti-drug program,
she was determined to continue using. Swenson said the video footage
"doesn't lie," forcing her to take a close look at herself.

Her life started improving about six months ago. "It's a long, hard
process," she added. A hair stylist who devotes herself to training in
the martial art Muay Thai, she hopes others might be helped by her
experience.

Producer Lori Kuffner applauded the youths and families who took part.
"We'll never know how many people we're reaching," she said, adding
that there's no doubt their stories have become the source of change
for some.

Shooting for the third season is already underway.